My Boyfriend: The S
by kokoro77
Summary: Axel: an erotic dancer with secrets. Roxas: a virgin, underaged boy who wants OUT of the club. But once he's passed out the cash and seen one dance, he just can't seem to get over the sugar high. Axel looked darn good in leather pants...-5 part oneshot-
1. My Boyfriend: The Slut

**Author's Note: BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!**

**EDIT: _this story USED to be a oneshot before a few of my reviewers mentioned that it would appear a tad overwhelming due to the shrunken scroll bar to your right. or...left, if your internet works that way. then i realized that, crap, it was. so here is the FIRST CHAPTER, with the others to follow promptly. ;D all the following chapters were updated on the same day__.  
_**

**_this_ short story was not created due to screwed syndrome. now, when i normally create a new story--one shot or not--while a couple of my ongoing ones are still...ongoing, it means i'm ultimately screwed. _this_ i made for the sheer _fun_ of it. i've ALWAYS wanted to type up a story relating to a promiscuous, "flaunt it, baby, flaunt it" axel and a "oh, shit. leave me alone" roxas. combined, i think it's rather dandy. makes a great candy bar.**

**i say it's a mix between skittles and sour patch kids. yes. that would be what akuroku tastes like. you _so_**** want that now, don't you?**

**well, know where you can find that..._eye-candy_? down there. in all its scandalous beauty. no need for a disclaimer because, seriously, does rated M not _mean_ anything to you? ****_EROTIC_**

**this is dedicated to my lovely "pineylife", with whom i bounce ideas and mercilessly text questions to about whether or not i want a story to be a oneshot or not. i love you, darling. :)  
**

**enjoy, my darlings.  
**

* * *

My Boyfriend: The Slut

* * *

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday, dear-fucking-brother-that-needs-to-learn-how-to-find-better-ways-to-spend-dollar-bills...

Happy birthday to you.

Yes. Roxas had been singing that song _all day long_. Ever since yesterday, he'd been preparing for the worst. Today, in fact, was meant to be a happy day. A day of remembrance and a day to have a family gathering around a blue birthday cake. A day to smile and make bunny ears behind mom's head while the camera snapped a photo. A day to whack a piñata around and hope that you got there in time before birthday boy got all the Sweet Tarts.

But, no. His older brother had turned the big 2-0. That's right. 20. While it wasn't the legal drinking age around Destati—not like anyone followed it—it was the legal age for drinking in something a little more...enjoyable.

And, being the younger brother, it was Roxas' duty to be dragged around to "bond". Sure, he'd said. Why not? Maybe they'd catch a film, head over to the skate park, maybe even head over to the beach for some bikini watching. Alas, it wasn't meant to be. His pig headed brother wanted his party to be unique.

So at exactly eight that night, the two brothers pretended to head out for a movie, jumped in the car and sped off with a couple more guys for a _real_ night on the town.

Roxas sighed, thinking about how stupid he'd been to fall for this, and tapped the edge of his filled martini glass hopelessly. The olive inside bounced against the glass to the surrounding music that was blaring from the speakers.

He was seated on a dark chocolate colored suede chair in front of a cupcake shaped glass table. All around him—on the walls, on the floor, on the ceiling—were a variety of round lights that resembled sprinkles. From time to time they'd change colors. They were currently deep orange and filled the club with a drunk-feel.

Amongst all those lights were women. Lots and lots of _women_. Skinny ones, blonde ones, tall and short, Angelina Jolies and Jennifer Anistons pranced around the linoleum floors on their stick thin high heels. What's worse—a majority of them were half naked...and nearly half _were men. _How. Embarrassing. But Sora didn't seem to care. He and his best friends were huddled around a table across the club while a couple girls "entertained" them.

"_Whoo! That's the stuff!"_

"_Some birthday, man!"_

"_Hey, sweetie, what's your number?"_

Roxas rolled his eyes. Scarring. The Sugar Night Club. Who would've thought that this place would be so packed full of shit for something oh-so sweet? He leaned back into the brownie designed seat and tried to ignore the woman that was currently slinking her body along a couple of orange lights to his right.

"Lady, I'm 19..." he grumbled, turning his head away with his hand shielding his eyes. Sora had to pay the bouncer up front to let Roxas get in. Not like he wanted to.

"At least he gets me a drink. Maybe I'll pass out." With that said Roxas held up the martini and took a huge gulp from it before setting it back down on the cupcake table. It tingled and burned like hell in his chest, but it was surprisingly an addictive feeling. And he wasn't the legal drinking age. Guilt would hit soon, but drunkenness would take that all away.

"_You look a little young t' be here."_

The blonde blinked at the sound of a voice not too far away from him. Shit, he thought, it's the manager. He looked up from his glass to the left and nearly jumped back when his eyes fell upon one of the club dancers standing with arms crossed over _HIS_ lanky chest. He almost choked and the dancer angled his head in concern.

"Alright there?" he asked, grinning.

Roxas nodded vigorously and shot his head away. "Fine, fine." Go away, go away, go away.

But the guy refused to back away. It wasn't like he could read minds anyway. Roxas had never _seen_ a guy dressed like _that_ before. He wasn't sure whether to label him as a potential cross dresser or not, let alone a 'he' or a 'she'. The guy looked like he was about in his early 20's and—minus the high boots he was wearing—he had to be at least a 6 footer, maybe more. Roxas cautiously shifted his eyes back to get a look at the corner of his eye.

Tight leather pants, no shirt, heeled and long leather boots, tight leather choker...he wasn't _dreaming_. This guy was actually _wearing_ this! And the thing was that he actually looked very_ good _wearing it. Roxas figured he _had _to be drunk otherwise he definitely wouldn't've thought about that. As he felt a blush tint his face, he coughed and stared at his feet.

"I swear...you guys keep gettin' younger and younger."

"Excuse me?" Roxas asked.

The redheaded dancer chuckled and took a couple of steps closer to Roxas' chair. His heels clicked against the linoleum loudly through the pounding music. "Ah, what's the matter? Didn't work out with you and your lover?"

"E—uhm—no—I'm just sorta—here."

The guy raised his chin in thought and slowly sat himself on the armrest of Roxas' seat. The sound of squeaky leather beside him made Roxas' body shiver. This was too close for comfort. He hesitantly turned his head to stare at the long and slick leather legs that were centimeters away from touching him.

"Ah. You mus' be with _that_ group over there, huh?" At that, Roxas glanced over to where the guy had thrust his thumb—at Sora and the other's table. He noticed that they were now pulling out their wallets and shoving dollars on the table. He rolled his eyes again.

"Yeah." He wasn't in the mood to get chatty with an ever-so-gorgeous male stripper. But the redhead wasn't about to give up. His venom green eyes gazed down at the kid and, in truth, he felt a little sorry for him.

"Heard it was his birthday. Looks like you were the forced one in the group. News floats around here pretty fast, ya know?"

Roxas scoffed. "Don't come here, so why would I know?"

The dancer's smile twisted into a devilish one. He got up from the chair and strolled over to the other that was set at Roxas' right. Once there he sat himself down and succeeded in having the blonde staring right at him. Oh, he was blushing. That's cute. He leaned forward and rested his chin on his hand while staring eye to eye with him.

"Don't you just hate it when people force you into doing things you don't wanna do?" the dancer asked rather harmlessly.

"Uhm. Yeah. Sure. Bugs me a lot."

"Don't I know it. You know, I didn't even wanna work in this lame excuse for a strip club."

Roxas' eyes rose in shock. He suddenly forgot that he'd been sitting in a disgusting place as he stared into the newly vacant eyes of the dancer. Now that he thought about it, he hadn't seen any of these dancers appear _not_ lonely. They were all...just pretending to be happy, he guessed.

"Then why _are_ you here?"

The redhead blinked slowly and leaned back lazily into the suede cushions. Roxas' eyes gazed over the tanned and toned chest of the man then down to the extremely tight pants over his long legs. Wasn't he flat out embarrassed to be here wearing that?

"Tryin' t' earn some cash for back home. Gonna try and get my bro into college. Give him another week and he just might be livin' in a fucking cardboard box. Hah, they all think I'm workin' the night shift at the Burger King across the street. Pft. _Please_. Me? Flippin' a buncha patties?"

Judging by the dancer's amazingly thin waist, it wasn't that hard to believe that he didn't work at a greasy fast food joint. "So you choose to strip instead?" Roxas pointed out with a raised eyebrow.

"Well," the guy thought about it a second before adding, "yeah. It's...sorta fun. You get nearly 200 bucks on a good night. And it keeps me in shape, ya know." As he said that, he crossed his legs with a tired groan and began tiptoeing two fingers along the armrest. Roxas prayed that wasn't a sign of flirting...he wasn't sure if he should ask or not.

Without a quick reply to give, Roxas slowly lifted the martini glass to his lips, hoping that it'd help moisten them up a bit. But even as he tried to ignore his surroundings, his body kept tingling. He could literally feel those two green eyes still watching his every move. With a roll of his eyes, the blonde nearly slammed the glass back down on the table as he stood from the chair. The sprinkle lights on the walls switched to a mix of blue and dark purple. He could _still _sense that he was being stared at.

"I'd better check on them," he said as he thrust his hands into his pockets. Though the club had grown dramatically dark, the occasional flashing lights allowed him to see sweat now glistening on the dancer's chest. He swallowed..._hard_. "Really, I _gotta_ go..."

"Come on. You _know_ those guys're way too busy. Where'll you head off to? Momma's house?"

Roxas suddenly stopped his attempt to back away nice and smoothly. "What? N-no!

The dancer began chuckling. Honestly, it was a flat out gorgeous, seductive laugh. His shoulder's tensed only a bit when he'd noticed that the man had stood up and was literally prowling after him in the dark. He listened to the clicking and tapping of those high heels drawing closer and closer to him. Pretty soon sweat had started beading his forehead with the thought of being cornered. It was all very stressful.

"Uhm, hey. Listen, I—" Roxas' voice cut off in midsentence. What perfect timing for the music to change. What _perfect _timing for him to choke up and for Mr. Sexy to suddenly decide that he rather enjoyed the new song. Roxas' poor guiltless eyes drifted lower for merely a second to see that the dancer's hips had begun to sway the teensiest bit. Watching him move in time to the pulse in the music was dizzying.

"Just a_ little_ fun? I swear, you're not gonna be disappointed..." His voice paused for a second. Roxas felt a few slender fingers curl flirtatiously on his shoulder. "Sorry. Never did get your name."

"Why would we need to be on a first name basis?"

A playful smirk tugged at the redhead's soft lips. "So I know what name to _scream_ later."

"O-Ok! Well! That's enough of that!" Instantly, Roxas' heart fluttered and his body geared into panic mode. Sex was NOT on his agenda for the day. It was Sora's damn fault for altering his schedule. All his senses sparked to the highest level as he looked up from those hips and directly into the man's narrowed eyes. "Sorry, but...I don't belong here."

For a while, Roxas was sure that he'd said enough and toyed enough to make that stripper leave. He nearly backed away and headed for the door before he heard yet another swift chuckle. Sora, save me, he whined.

"Well, lemme tell you that _neither do I_."

"You're not making any sense." Roxas had already spun around on his heel toward where the bouncer was holding the door open. Trying to reason was frustrating.

"That's _another_ thing 'bout you young boys. None of you—not _one_—take people in this joint seriously. Never stop for simple chatting either, hm?" The redhead crossed his lanky arms over his bare chest and sighed as he stared off to the right. His eyebrows lowered, giving him a somewhat naïve expression. Roxas didn't turn around, but somehow was forced to stop to listen.

"And here I was, thinkin' that I earned myself a one way ticket to relaxation for the night. Don't get to do that a lot considering that _I'm_ the only reason this club's runnin' correctly."

"Oh, _really_...?" Roxas sighed sarcastically.

"Yes, _really_." From behind him, Roxas heard the man scoff and then sigh a in a way that made him seem to be begging for attention. "But, what's the point in conversing?"

At that point, Roxas felt something strange tug at his heart strings. Guilt. _Suffer, suffer, suffer_, they yelled at him. Apologize. Fucking apologize! Do _something_. With those orders fluttering about, he rolled his eyes harshly before abruptly spinning around and, to his and the dancer's surprise, grabbing the other's arm in the dark.

"Hey, listen," he began. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap. I'm just...pissed. _So pissed_." The man's arm suddenly felt limp in his grasp. Wait...he'd been grasping?

A chuckle echoed through the club and sent Roxas through another phase of euphoria. The lights flickered. Once, twice, three times and over and over and over again. Blue, yellow, orange, red, orange, blue yellow..._red_. It was like getting high and hallucinating _happily_; like falling without hitting the ground; like spinning without tripping; like passing out without regret.

He must've been drunk...if he wasn't, then why was it that he couldn't remember how he'd managed to pick up his swaying feet and sit down in a room that cancelled out all outside disturbances?

How was it that...

..._where_?

* * *

Bribary

* * *

It suddenly occurred to poor little Roxas that he'd been interacting with, well, a _slut_. And while it may have felt totally hurtful to refer to the erotic dancer as one, somehow he knew deep in his little heart that it was damn true. Therefore, he had no reason to feel bad. _However_, he did have slight reason to feel horrible for becoming blank at _the_ worst moment.

Now—sitting in this round, airtight room—he was oblivious as to _how in the hell_ he'd gotten there.

The minute the noise from outside substantially lessened, Roxas began gaping at his new surroundings. Hm...a wrap around red and leather couch, red lighting, rounded walls that're bound to cause claustrophobia...and a pole. A tall, shiny, spankin' brand new pole standing erect atop a round pedestal. He wished that he hadn't described it as _erect_.

"Can I ask you something point blankly?"

"Excuse me?"

"You a virgin?"

"Ex_cuse me?"_

"It's ok. I'm not gonna be offended with whatever you answer. You can trust me in makin' sure that whatever you say _will_ be locked behind bulletproof doors." The redhead turned back around after shutting, and locking, the foggy glass door behind him to meet with his flustered blonde captive positively _gawking_ at the pole in between them. His eyebrows rose and with one arm akimbo he let his other reach out and hang on to the silver rod.

Roxas cleared his throat and stared down at his lap. _Damn him_ for blocking his only getaway. "I really don't think that's any of your business."

"Ah. Denial. You're a tough one."

"But it really isn't your business."

"Just wanted t' know for reference...but ah well."

The dancer shrugged and with one large step propped himself atop the pedestal with both arms wrapped tightly around the pole. While Roxas wanted to believe that he had no idea what in the hell was going on, he figured that it was sort of impractical to attempt doing so. It was _a bit_ hard to ignore a nearly naked dancer clinging on to a pole in such a tight space.

"Well, anyway, I really _am_ the sole reason why this joint hasn't crumbled. Believe it or not, I originally came here lookin' for work as a bartender. Next thing you know they've filed all the paperwork out for me and I'm signed up for work the next night as an erotic dancer. Dunno why. I say that the boss just liked my body."

"Your body."

"Yeah. But don't make me talk about Xiggy too much. He's a bitch if I ever saw one..."

"Xiggy."

"Short for Xigbar. I _told_ you not t' make me talk about 'im." He spun around the pole slowly once, being sure to barely make his skin touch the cold metal. When he'd looked back, Roxas' eyes had increased to the size of melons. Ha-ha-ha.

"Well, I came for work and the night went pretty well...you'd be surprised how many men actually showed up for me. Next thing you know, I'm performin' for women _and_ men. That's why we've grown so popular. More customers means a helluva lot more cash."

"Fantastic."

"I know, right? If I keep this job up for another month or two, I should be set to go." Sexy took another spin around the pole but _this time_ slowly made it around and let a leg wrap around it. Roxas was afraid that the sound of squeaky leather would either A) break his ear drums or B) force him to relieve himself of an agonizing erection.

And he prayed for neither.

With eyes squinted Roxas looked up briskly from his lap and faked a smile up at his supposed buddy. "Always great to hear a story. And if you're done with it, I'd better—"

"_Roxas..."_

Ever fiber of Roxas' being shivered...then froze...and once again shivered to the sound of that guy's voice saying, no, _moaning_ his name in the intense heat from the red light overhead. God, he felt like he'd been in one of those damn reptile habitats. In a sense that made him the defenseless mouse up against a snake.

"_Oh, Roxas..."_

No, no, no. Fuck no! Roxas shook his head furiously. Lalala. Not listening.

"_Oh, _look at me. Please_ look at me, Roxas..."_

Ah, ah, ah. Self composure. Self defense. Self _control_. Nails were already digging into the leather sofa.

"_You know you wanna _look_."_

No, no...YES. Yes Roxas want to look. Roxas want to look _badly_.

He hadn't looked straightaway, but in the corner of his eyes he could see the dancer's extremely long legs—both squeezing the pole—and his sweaty, baby soft skin rubbing ever-so-slightly against the metal. His totally relaxed face was staring down at him while his cheeks lightly brushed the pole. And it hadn't taken long at all for him to fiercely press his chest on the pole and groan in utter desire:

"_Roxasss..."_

If only I were that pole, Roxas thought.

The show commenced, filled with more moaning and groaning, humping and jumping, twirling, rubbing, hissing...and, sadly, self control, which at the moment was dwindling down to an infinitesimal speck in Roxas' mind. Whenever the guy uttered Roxas' name, his eyes would roll to the back of his head and his lips would quiver in anticipation. And all that time, Roxas sat there—listening and watching his fingers anxiously drum on the edge of the seat, determined to reach out and...and—

"Ok, wait, h-hold on," Roxas interrupted, holding up his hand and resisting the urge to reach further. The dancer paused just as he was about to dip, and smirked.

"Hm?"

"A-Alright. I know you want something and I'm sacrificing more than 100 hours of work to give it to you."

The redhead straightened up and casually leaned an arm on the pole. "Oh, really? And what's that?" He gave Roxas the second he needed to clumsily fumble through his pockets and retrieve what appeared to be a bundle of dollar bills held together by a measly rubber band. His thin eyebrow rose in shock when Roxas broke the band, flipped through the bills and yanked out two of them to hand to him. If he had so much money, why not buy a wallet?

Hesitantly, he moved a hand toward the two bills before taking them and stupidly realizing that he'd just been given 200 bucks. Seeing as the night was going pretty slow for him, and that he'd milked only a 20 from some jerkoffs, this was utterly magnificent...and it was coming from a _virgin_, no doubt.

"You're too generous, Roxas." He smiled wryly but Roxas hadn't returned with a 'you're welcome'. He suddenly noticed another unknown bill in between Roxas' fingers.

"I'll give you one more if you promise a couple of things."

"I barely know you, kid...but if that's what I _think_ it is, why _not_ take my chances? Whadayawant?"

Pleased with his demands working so effectively, Roxas quickly wiped his dripping face with the back of his hand, slowed his adrenaline rush to the best of his ability and with the bribe in his possession stared the dancer straight in the eye.

"First, you need to promise me that when you get this money, you'll quit working at this dump and quit degrading yourself so you can go find something _real_ to do."

"Ah." The dancer crossed his arms.

"I want you to let me leave this room _and_ this club without stopping me for another one of your sessions."

"Hm."

"And...gimme a name."

"A name?"

Roxas sighed and fanned the money in his face. It really _was_ very hot. And it was getting extremely frustrating to be referring to this guy as 'Sexy' or 'you' or 'him' or '_slut_' all the time. And so, with his demands stated, all that was left to do was wait until they'd struck an accord. After another moment watching the dancer's lips pull into a smirk, Roxas was happy to hear what he wanted after a simple nod and a scoff.

"You hand me the money, and if it's enough t' satisfy me, I'll get my ass outta this door by the end of th' week. And I'll let ya go under the _one_ condition that you add a 10 on top of my pay. _Axel_."

Roxas' eyes rose. "Axel."

Axel nodded slowly and did a cutesy jump away from the pole before standing before Roxas with an open palm. "Hand it over, _Roxas_."

The blonde sighed roughly, rolled his eyes, and after pulling out a ten dollar bill, slapped both of the bills into the other's waiting hand. And that had been the closest thing to "touching" he'd gotten before Axel agreed to unlocking the door and letting him run free as they had discussed.

When he'd stared down at his open palm, he counted 100—plus the 10 and the 200 made 310 bucks.

Axel smirked and, upon leaving the room, tapped his passing boss on the shoulder, whispered something into his ear, received a confused glower and finally model-walked happily to the bar to pick up his clothes.

It had been a good night. A _very_ good night.

* * *

Born That Way

* * *

Alright, so Axel had lied. No, he didn't leave the club by the end of the week. In fact, it took nearly three weeks before he decided that business was boring. He'd already run out of new tricks to show off at the pole, on stage, in the private booths...boring. Yeah, he'd told old Xiggy that he'd quit the second that blonde kid handed him nearly three nights pay, and it pissed the old man more than ever that he hadn't disappeared the night after.

But soon he'd packed up and hit the road, laughing to himself.

He didn't _have_ a brother.

Slyly, he pulled out his wallet—now stuffed with cash—and pulled out the pay he'd received that night. Add the 310 he'd gotten from Blondie to the 50 from Blondie's bro, the 20 from his silver haired buddy and 30 from the Mohawk bartender, it all added up to a generous 410 bucks.

"_Hey, pay you 50 bucks to go over to my brother over there and keep 'im company."_

"_I'll give ya 20 to take 'im into one of the private rooms. Oh, and tease about his virginity. Dude, I'm gonna laugh so hard!"_

"_Axel, I'll give ya 30 when you and I meet up later, yeah?"_

Oh, yes. He was a slut.

* * *

G Rated

* * *

Roxas never returned to that club. He'd passed by it, and always wondered if that dude had taken his advice. Maybe he'd been too quick to throw so much money at him. But what other choice did he have? He had to leave.

It'd been oh-so interesting meeting and paying his first erotic dancer. But life had to move along.

Next year he'd take Sora to the arcade to play with G rated toys.

* * *

Sixth Sense?

* * *

Axel started wondering—as he flipped through the clothes rack and his eyes fell on a pair of torn jeans—if Blondie really _had _beena virgin. And if he was, had he already lost his virginity over the course of these three weeks?

Being in such a profession gave Axel a third eye; one that could differentiate the experienced from the ones that hadn't seen or heard of a dildo in their life. Therefore, they _were_ didoes. He chuckled and set the jeans back on the rack before stumbling out of the high class store.

Nah. He'd _never_ open up. That boy—he was too much of an amateur. Too poofy to even _try_.

* * *

Sugar High

* * *

It was 4 AM one morning on the fourth week. Roxas had been coming back from an exhausting graveyard shift and was forced to take the long way home—seeing as the buses no longer ran that early in the morning—when lo and behold he noticed that wooden planks had been nailed over the Sugar Night Club's frosted entrance. There was a sign nailed to the boards, and in big, bold and red letters, it read:

"OUT OF BUSINESS"

He shook his head and scoffed before crossing to the opposite sidewalk.

"Good riddance."

* * *

Are You _Serious_?

* * *

"What th' hell do they _mean_ 'out of business'? Pft. I _knew_ that I was the only thing keeping this up." Axel slapped the blocked entrance of the club after spotting it at 6 AM that morning on his way to the coffee shop. He was hoping he'd get the chance to meet up with the club bartender again for some chit chat.

Now he didn't know where all his fellow eroticas had gone. Feeling strangely abandoned, he kicked the door forcefully, nearly breaking his toe, and limped off down the sidewalk while cursing to himself. How often did a business close in a months-time? Maybe a strip club just wasn't a great scene for the kids that hung out around this side of town. Pft.

He had 400 bucks left from what he'd earned that night. He'd spent ten on the bus ride down there.

* * *

20

* * *

Roxas' plan had worked out rather nicely. The town was now planning on breaking down that old club and building some food place over it. Smiling as he passed, he hoped that it would be Italian. Destati didn't have near enough places like it. But his smile didn't last long. Upon seeing a discarded 20 dollar bill sitting in a puddle at his feet, he was forced to remember a familiar face possibly wandering around with zero dollars and no where to go.

Where was that one guy now?

As he constantly told himself about his brother: people honestly have to find better ways to spend their dollar bills. Not only that, but take care of them. As mommy says: money DOES NOT grow on trees.

He picked up the 20 and folded it neatly before tucking it away up his sleeve.

* * *

The Joys Of Being A Celebrity

* * *

Axel had to eat _some_thing. So over that week he'd spent at least 50 bucks on food. He paid the nice lady at the register for his soda and slumped in the back of the fast food joint, suffering the loss of fizz in the drink. He'd seen her at the club once, giving him money for his dancing skills.

So _this_ was where she earned her money? A damn _burger joint_?

"_You look familiar_," she'd said.

He set the cup down and stared out the window. Wouldn't it be nice to be recognized again? Maybe he hated Roxas for pulling him out of that place. Why didn't he realize that 400 something bucks couldn't possibly last longer than a month?

He had 350 left. Then he rechecked.

Never mind. He'd lost 20 somewhere. That made 330.

* * *

**well, that was chapter one. i'm quickly butchering up this oneshot and separating it in to, well, chapters. thank you to the people that reviewed earlier for the feedback. some didn't mind while others made it clear that "long oneshot is LONG." Dx so, for you new readers, care to input your own feedback?**

**i'm trying something a little different with this story, not only by including, uhm, _strippers_, but also by adding mini "chapters" with their own spiffy titles. x3 i figured that just adding my usual breaker: "xxXXxx" would appear messy and GWAH. ALSO! i placed the characters in a random town called "Destati", which _i know_ some writers have ALREADY USED in their own pieces, BUT that's not too bad, is it? of course it isn't. i sort of picture Destati to be a desolate town that's like the dark side of Twilight Town. NO. NOT Traverse Town! a bit more...urban than that. xO i couldn't keep calling the damn place "the town" as i wrote the story!! so Destati it was.**

**now! hmhmhm. i really enjoyed writing this whole thing out. so, without further nonsense, please give me some feedback! ...****_and __to the next chapter with ya--ALL OF YA._ xD**

**_geez. axel's making me feel POOR,  
kokoro77 _**


	2. Chance Encounter

**Author's Note: i TOLD you that i was going to break this up in to chapters, didn't i? i'll never lie, dearies. x3 if you previously placed this story into your alerts, i apologize if you received a message in your e-mail telling you that i "updated a new chapter." that's just me being a twat.**

**well, i think it's about time i place roxas and axel in the same room again. possibly. only, who can imagine what the OUTCOME would look like? perhaps the first title below might help. or not. xP**

* * *

Fries With A Side Of Remorse

* * *

The building of the place was going speedily. Roxas had often stood there, admiring the Speedy Gonzalez behavior of many of the construction workers across the street. The old Sugar Night Club was nothing but dust in the wind, and to replace it—which he found out only last night—was none other than a Burger King.

Well, it wasn't Italian. But it was a 24 hour food joint.

And when the place was finally built and due to open the next day, Roxas had already earned back more than half of what he'd given away to Axel some time ago. He'd at least be able to buy himself a decent burger. Maybe even a few more with the 20 he'd picked up.

* * *

Fans

* * *

"Hold on...so you wanted the...number 9, right?"

"Yep. Wait a sec...haven't I _seen_ you somewhere before? You look _awful_ familiar."

Axel rolled his eyes after slamming the switch off on the soda machine. He spun back around to slide the cup toward the two guys standing with their eyes wide at his obvious behavioral issues. For a dude working in a Burger King obviously _infected_ with workers slower than heck due to drug overdose, this guy was quick to react and fantastically hardworking.

"Ah. Sugar Night Club. I remember that attitude." The first guy winked while responding. He took the soda and walked off.

"Sugar Night Club, _I remember_. You _douche_ _bag_," Axel mimicked before forcing a happy face to the next person in line who, after placing her order, stared at him closely and asked:

"Do I know you?"

Behind the soda machine, Axel slammed himself upside the head with a kids' meal toy. So, maybe being recognized was a _bad_ thing.

After today, he'd gain back some dough to reach 200 bucks again. Maybe if he'd work the nightshift they'd pay him extra.

* * *

Keep The Change

* * *

4:32 AM.

Roxas sauntered across the car-free and dark street toward the brightly lit up Burger King. With the 20 dollar bill stuffed up the cuff of his sleeve, he was ready to scarf down at least four cheeseburgers and some nuggets if he had to. The past week he'd been living off of apple chips and shit that the vending machine at work had coughed up.

He _was_ a growing boy.

His heart leapt in his chest when he noticed that there was no one in line. The only couple of people inside were a couple of janitors and two random medical students sitting off to the side, looking half asleep over their fries. He'd just end up stealing their goods later, then. With that, he grabbed the door handle and stepped inside to the smell of grease, grease, grease and cherry soap.

He didn't need to glance at the menu to know what he wanted. He just stood there at the counter waiting for someone to show up. The clock on the wall read 4:33 now.

After five more minutes of waiting, Roxas was afraid that he'd have to force himself to run behind the register and cook his own fries and ketchup his own burger. He shook his head, realizing how much of a sexual innuendo that had been, and finally made the move to look over the registers and at the slippery floor behind. Just as he expected, someone had been sitting there with their back pressed against the countertop and their head hung low.

But what had _really_ sparked some interest was the crimson hair on that head. Roxas cautiously tapped the dude on the head a couple of times.

"Pst. Hey. Hey. Get up will you? Axel? Is that you?"

The guy on the floor groaned, shifted his head lazily and then stared around before finally looking up at a pair of eyes glaring down at him. It might've taken a minute for the face to strike a memory, but Axel eventually woke up his senses and slapped two hands on the counter at an attempt to balance himself.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the virgin."

Roxas hung his head to control his blush. Yes. Axel had spoken the truth. But he ignored the topic.

"So, working at the Burger King across the street," he started smugly. "Now your family will know you haven't been lying."

"Psh. Spare me. There's no family t' lie or tell the truth _to_. Anyway, you came for somethin' obviously. Lookin' for the old club, were ya?" While on his knees, Axel folded his arms and rested his chin atop them while staring dazedly at Roxas.

"Nah. I saw this place was shut down _weeks_ ago, and somehow I don't think my joyness is gonna be appreciated here. So...get me two number threes and a number four and I'll be outta here to express it elsewhere." He smiled firmly down at Axel's dead beat eyes and pulled out the 20 from his sleeve, slapping it in front of him afterward.

Axel stared down at it cross eyed. "20. Hey, hey, that's _my _20!"

"And...how would you know?"

"I marked it here, see." He pointed out to a pen mark on the upper right corner of the bill and snatched it up before Roxas could take it back. "I mark _all_ my bills."

"Found it outside the place here a while ago—"

"Then it _is_ mine."

"Look, fine. Ok. Whatever. Just take it and run the order, please? I'm not kidding about how malnourished I am now." Who in their right mind marked their bills?

Axel smirked, and after folding the 20 over, tucked it down his black polo with a smile. It was...sorta second nature. He swiftly turned on the boy after standing up and crossed his arms while hovering around the shelves of burgers in front of him. "Well, bein' a _virgin_ can do that to ya. You don't get some every now and then, you're gonna feel _slightly_ deprived, Roxas. Tell me I'm right."

Roxas huffed. "And _you,_ being so skinny, should know about deprivation of sex. Tell me _I'm_ right."

Axel suddenly stopped tiptoeing around the shelves and looked over his shoulder at Roxas who was leaning over the counter looking extremely smart-assy. "Oh? Whadaya know about sex?" he asked in a sultry voice.

"I hardly think that's something to talk about over _my dinner_."

"Huh. Your dinner _indeed_." Axel said that with a short wink to which Roxas gaped at.

"When're you gonna stop taking everything I say so pervertedly? Get your frickin' head outta the gutter and get me my damn food."

Axel still refused to move his ass over to the kitchen behind him and instead—to push the kid further off his seat—got up onto the speckled counter and stretched out his legs so he could sit back against the register. He stared up at the ceiling with a sigh.

"Never thought you'd be getting' along with...a _slut_ like me, huh?"

Roxas, with his anger aside, crossed his arms and leaned against the counter with his back to Axel. "Don't call yourself that." He furrowed his eyebrows and stared down at the tips of his shoes in an uncomfortable fashion.

"True, isn't it, though? Admit you called me that on your way outta the club. Ad_mit_ it, Roxas." Now, Roxas didn't want to say anything about _that_. Really, it was his business and no one else's. He wasn't about to put up with being interrogated, especially by a—

Roxas felt a tap on his shoulder and shivered during his thought process. He really had to wonder how Axel had gotten a job anywhere. If the management had to ask all employees-to-be about their past experiences and what-not, then _why_ would they accept him? Alright, so that was being a bit judgmental. Funny that both of Axel's jobs happened to be on the same patch of dirt. He glanced over his left shoulder, arms still crossed, and noticed that Axel had poked him.

"Well, essentially, you _were_ a—a _slut_, ok? But personality wise, you weren't and you aren't."

Axel cocked his head and let his feet dangle on Roxas' side of the register. He stared at the blonde for a while, unblinking. He couldn't help but wonder about the boy's age. Being a stripper in the past meant that he didn't have the right really to ask his customers' age. Age didn't matter. As long as they had money and as long as they were eating out of the palm of his hand, he was set to go. But now that life was no longer filled with the luxuries of money flying in his direction and hot, sweaty booths closed away from the world, he had to be—dare he say it—_normal._

"You're pretty mature."

Roxas exhaled. "I'm 19. 19," he whispered to the ground. "Do I not look it?"

Axel rolled his eyes. "I never asked your age, silly. I was just commenting—"

"Look, will you just hand me my shit so I can go? I've got work tomorrow and I can't be late."

"Otherwise?"

"Uh, _otherwise_? _You've_ got a job! You know the consequences! If I show up late tomorrow, lord knows what the boss'll do with my ass!"

Well, because he'd asked so nicely, Axel shrugged faintly and hopped off from the counter, stealing a glimpse of the ass that supposedly was meant to be mutilated tomorrow. It'd be a shame to lose such a nice ass. It was like second nature to walk so flirtatiously—one foot crossing over the other; hips swaying in a general manner meant for a sex god with his standards.

Two number threes and a four. Simple enough. Take them out and place them on the counter. And yet he still had to act so coy in doing so. The strip joint heat was still there, and he could _feel_ it.

"Finally. _Thank_ you." Upon hearing the register chime as it opened, Roxas spun around on his heel and eyed the three burgers sitting atop the counter with intense greed. He would've wolfed them down even _with_ the white paper wrapping them up. "Keep the change, alright?"

Axel arched an eyebrow and pulled a frown on his lips. He'd just started flipping through some fresh bills that were bundled up in a rubber band in the register. "You're real weird, kid. That's nearly 10 bucks you're tossin' out the window there." He shook the stack of ones in front of the blonde's nose.

"Yeah, well, life's not _made_ of money. That 10 will come back within the week. I'm pretty sure eating is priority number one. Anyway, thanks...again." Roxas scooped up the brown bag and after eying the redhead with a raised eyebrow, turned to leave. What an awkward parting. Well, at first he really thought that that would be the last time that he'd lay eyes on Axel. Not that that particularly _bothered_ him. But somehow he noticed the loss of glitter in the redhead's eyes and he _did_ feel bothered.

"Something bothering you?"

"No," Roxas blurt out as if he'd been preparing for the question to come around.

"Just asking. Anyway, I'll be seein' ya." Roxas couldn't help but feel extremely guilty for barking like that. In fact, ever since he'd met the guy, all the words that came out of his mouth were nothing but crap. Ultimate _crap_. Why couldn't he just play nice and be _fair_? Honestly, he was...sorta_ scared_.

Being around an ex-dancer like Axel was kinda nerve-racking. But he _shouldn't_ see him like that. He's just a normal guy trying to make it in the fast food industry to make a living. It's a pretty creepy and huge world out there. And to be treated like a slut even _out_ of that dance club probably doesn't feel any better.

Roxas had one hand on the glass of the door while he stared at his and Axel's reflection. When Roxas had his back turned, Axel was like a different guy—just staring at his fingers as they rapped at the counter. What was he thinking about? Heck if he knew. Was he singing a song? Counting the speckles on the counter? Just tick-tocking the seconds away before sunrise? But Roxas knew that all _he_ could think about was how embarrassing it was to think that he'd miss another good opportunity to help Axel out...

He turned halfway around and slipped his hand away from the door so he could slip it in his jacket pocket. "Axel?" he asked in a half whisper. Since the place was filled with nothing but sleeping students, Axel could hear Roxas' voice as clear as day. He slowly looked up from his fingers.

"I just—lemme help you out."

"Hah. Help me out, huh?" Axel replied, semi-desolately.

Roxas nodded, when in reality, he had no idea what the hell he was _saying_. "Y-yeah. I wanna help you out. I kinda need to...apologize for getting you out of a job."

Apologize? As in _how_ exactly? Roxas really was a crazy guy. Axel thought that a guy of 19 years old wouldn't even _think_ to turn back around and speak out like that. Most of them were either too preoccupied with the fact that they were near the legal drinking age, or were close to getting out of college. Now _Roxas_...he wasn't very _smart _for throwing money around like it was going out of style, but he was pretty considerate. Almost _so_considerate that he didn't even _want_ the kid's money anymore.

Axel decided to sit back on the counter again, and when he did, he started to dangle his legs aimlessly. "Don't do that," he said to the floor. "I don't deserve it, ya know?"

"Why not?" Roxas stepped closer.

The redhead scoffed, shut his eyes and turned his head the other direction. He was sorta used to bad reactions and rejection when ever he confessed about a lie as a dancer, so all he could do was look the other way. His boss hated lies, the bartender hated lies, even his _clients_ hated lies. And in return? He'd get one word.

_Slut_.

"I don't _have_ a brother, kid. I just told ya that story so you'd gimme pity. Huh. So you just threw that stuff my way for no reason." Here it comes, here it comes. Oh, he was in for a _BIG_ scream.

But...it never came. What?

_Why was he laughing instead_?

Axel's eyes popped open and in one split second he turned and saw the blonde laughing at his feet—his eyes shut and a hand running through his hair. Well, this was _definitely_ new. B-but that one bad word was gonna come up soon, right? Roxas was just kidding...right?

"You—you seriously _said_ that? Man," Roxas caught his breath and added, "I don't even remember you saying you _had_ a brother!"

Axel's eyebrows rose in shock as he hopped down from the counter. Roxas was slowly coming closer toward him, still laughing lightly. "But I told you—" Then, he stopped, and instead he watched the blonde continue to fill the empty joint with _laughter_.

It was like he'd forgotten not only about their conversation a month back, but also about the bag of most likely freezing burgers in his hand. Roxas just laughed as time flew right by. In the end, Axel couldn't help but let a real sincere smile take over his baffled expression. What..._was_ this?

So did the kid just give him all that cash 'cause he really felt _sorry_ for his own well-being?

Finally, Roxas' laughing started to slow down and he'd gotten at least a step away from Axel and the counter. His teary blue eyes cracked open a bit and he rubbed them before looking up at Axel's face. His first time seeing the guy _smile_ like that...

Suddenly his face softened up and all the two of them did was stare. Sorta like the first time they met at the club, but with less tension and resistance. Roxas...kinda liked it.

"...That was cute."

"H-huh?" Roxas asked quietly.

Axel scoffed to the side and slowly, _very _slowly, reached out a hand and ran three fingers through the bangs that covered Roxas' still tear stained eyes. Yeah, the kid shook pretty much _a lot_. After all, the last person to touch his hair like that must've been his own _grandmother_. Time for a change? Maybe. Just maybe.

"_You're_ cute."

"I...am?" Roxas voice rose in question, but before he backed away to mull it over, his body inched closer towards Axel's touch. It was just simple hair petting. Nothing more. But Roxas really liked it. So...this guy used to be an _erotic_ _dancer_, right? Huh. Imagine that. All this time he had this amazing touch. Would it feel any different if he were back in those leather pants and high heeled boots?

Axel blinked slowly and let his index finger glide along Roxas' right temple. "...Yeah. Yeah, you are." He really _did_ sound serious. Roxas liked that, too...

_Beep Beep Beep_

All at once, Roxas blinked, Axel's touching stopped and both of them took at least half a step away from each other. Like snapping out of a trance, Roxas looked in all directions and finally stopped when he spotted a cell phone being pulled out of Axel's pocket. He clicked a button and stored it again, giving the blonde a quick chuckle as he did.

"Shift's over."

"O-oh."

"Yeah. I get off at five on Friday morning."

"Oh." Roxas nodded hastily as Axel quickly moved back behind the register and started writing something down on a surface hidden from his sight. He didn't try craning his neck to see—thinking that would just make him out to be a stalker or something—and just stood there wondering...and wondering. Suddenly he could feel the roughness of the paper bag against his skin. Right...he'd ordered food, right?

Axel looked back up from his writing and smiled when he saw that Roxas was still standing there like he'd been slapped, kicked and thrown into a crowd of naked people against his will. "Listen, I just clocked out. I'm gonna get outta here soon as the guy covering me walks through that door."

"Oh." Was that all he could _say_? Apparently...yes. Oh.

And Axel noticed this and laughed after jumping over the counter once more. "Ya look a little plastered, Roxas."

"N-no! Really, I'm just—I'm tired. I'm tired."

"Sure," Axel drawled and brushed right past the blonde as he headed for the door. Just outside he could spot his co-worker's car pulling up on the sidewalk. Boy, he was _ready_ to hit the bed and just _sleep_. These nightshifts sure were tiresome...but if it got him good pay, hey, why not? From the looks of things, Roxas sure needed a good bed, too. He turned towards him on the thought and winked to which Roxas' lips quirked a tiny smile.

"I'm off on Saturdays, so, uh...ya know." As he pushed the door open with his side, Axel brought a hand to his head where he placed his thumb to his ear and his pinky to his lips—classic phone gesture. Ah, Roxas knew that one. Wait, exactly _how_ could he—?

He couldn't ask. He couldn't even say another word since Axel had pushed the door open further and slipped right out into the light blue tinted sunrise. That's when it hit him...clocked out, ey? Against what he thought he'd even do, against what his mom had told him to refrain from acting his entire life, Roxas scrambled toward the counter and literally clawed his way up and over until he was standing where Axel had once been.

There, written on the 10 that was meant to be his change, were a couple of pen marks in the corner. No, they weren't made for Axel's strange banking method. It was now for Roxas. The good ol' seven digits. Hah.

Keep the change, indeed.

* * *

Let's Dance

* * *

Now, Roxas hadn't reacted _right _away to Axel's little "call me". It was weird. He checked the clock. Saw that it was a little after 12 in the afternoon. Being the summer time, it was hot and he had to sleep most nights without his shirt. So, thinking of Axel, thinking of _calling _Axel and thinking of _talking_ to Axel _without_ his shirt on was only slightly unthinkable.

Slightly.

But, he'd called him. Without the shirt and without even having to get out of bed. Strange how that works. Ever since Roxas had gotten that 10 dollar bill in his hand and tucked it away, all his actions were pretty much artless and on a whim. Screw mentality! They had a great conversation. Chatted it up about the weather, about careers, about money issues and even why it took so long for that one traffic light down the lane to change colors.

Well, it was only their third _long _convo since they'd met, but Roxas could already say that they were getting off on the right foot. And from the sounds of things on the other line, he figured that Axel got the same impression.

So he called. Nights mostly. Even on the days when Axel _wasn't_ off, Roxas would dial those numbers until his fingers basically had the numbers tattooed on their tips. He'd memorized it and stored it in his phonebook for future use, even though he'd never think about calling Axel up on the side of the street or anything. After all, Sora went nearly everywhere with him, and if he caught Roxas chatting away with Axel...ok, maybe the outcome should be locked away in a dark closet somewhere.

Pretty soon, about another month sped right by, and nearly half of those days were spent calling Axel—talking about anything and everything from soap to the funny noise the vacuum cleaner made. But there was something bugging Roxas. He thought about it occasionally before bed, waking up, walking out to get the mail...

Were they just gonna end up meeting face to face in one month intervals?

Did _that_ just make him a stalker? Obsessed? He'd been labeled a lot of things in his lifetime, but obsessed never came up until he realized that his calls with Axel were causing his batteries to drain within two hours. That couldn't be good. Even worse was that he just couldn't _believe_ Axel's words when he'd say he was ok.

Roxas would _always_ ask how Axel was at the beginning of each call. Money was doing fine, job was paying for the bills etcetera, etcetera. Sure, it was technically a _good_ thing that Axel had never brought up a downfall, a pitfall, a fall of any variety, but it was only a _smidge _away from _very_good.

Which was not acceptable. It could never be.

"Uhm, hey, Axel?"

"What's up?" was the reply on the other line.

Roxas had the lights off in his room that night. He'd kept them off ever since he was supposedly "in bed" an hour ago. All he had was the light coming in from the street lamp outside his bedroom window and the strange merry-go-round fish light creating moving shadows of angel fish on his wall. He watched the blue fish spin leisurely around and around while he started to fiddle with the fabric at the corner of his pillowcase. Well, it was now or never.

Maybe this was what it felt like to, well...ask someone out. Kinda like that, but not.

"...When're, ah...when're we gonna...meet up again?" Roxas squeezed his eyes shut and nibbled his lower lip while he turned on his side in bed. He heard something rustling on the other end as well and figured that Axel might've been doing the same. After all, it was, what, past 1 AM already? Great. Maybe he just hated Roxas for keeping the phone call going for this long.

Then again, the sigh and tiny laugh probably contradicted that.

"T' be honest, I was gonna ask _you_ the same exact thing." Axel mimicked his chuckle from earlier, only he drawled out a bit at the end which pretty much made Roxas shake.

"Really?"

"Yeah, really." There was a pause, more rustling and an almost silent click before Axel spoke up again in a whisper. "Tomorrow's Saturday." Boy. He sounded happy.

Roxas grinned toward the fish shadows on his orange ceiling. "I know," he replied matter-of-factly.

"Hm. You're lucky I didn't have the nightshift today. Otherwise we wouldn't be planning this little meet up."

Roxas' grin widened and he shut his eyes softly. "I know..."

With that, Axel's voice dropped so low that Roxas had to hold his breath just to hear it. He could tell that he was possibly falling asleep on the other end. Poor guy. Maybe that really did justify the fact that he'd been working his ass off day after day after day. Really, did that make any guy _happy_? "...I'll be outside my work at ten tomorrow morning. Fair?"

"...Absolutely."

Roxas barely slept a wink. He just blamed the dancing shadows of angel fish on his ceiling.

Dance...dance..._dance_.

* * *

Axel's Pretty

* * *

Axel liked to dance. _A lot_. Which shouldn't've come as any bit of surprise to Roxas since, well, he met Axel at the erotic dance club, _in which_ the guy was the dancer with the highest demand. But he never knew that outside of those sprinkled walls of the night club, Axel would strut his stuff in broad daylight. It wasn't _as_ provocative as behind closed doors, but it was enough to get all the guys ogling and all the girls, well, ogling in a more licentious fashion.

"I love this song!" Axel would say each time he heard some tune he liked by the coffee shop or even when a car with its speakers blaring would speed by them.

Roxas would just shake his head and pretend to ignore the hip-swaying going on at his left. "You don't _really _love it. You just know it."

In return, Axel would smirk and keep at it. "That's not a problem, _is it_?"

No. No it wasn't. Sometimes Roxas wanted to smack himself upside the head with a frying pan so he'd quit fantasizing about how wonderful it was that he could stand beside one of _the_ most _gorgeous_ men around town. Which was the truth. Axel really was...pretty, for lack of better word. And while "pretty" wasn't normally used to describe a guy's looks, Roxas figured that Axel made it _work_.

Besides, there was a shortage of frying pans just lying on the ground for Roxas to pick up.

Axel liked tight jeans. He liked tight shirts. He liked white. He liked black. But most of all? He liked thongs. How did Roxas come to discover this? Simple. Axel happened to drop his phone around the corner one day they were together. Roxas was behind him and _boom_. Hell-o. Ever since then, he walked either to the right of the guy or up front.

But behind was alright, he guessed.

"You know how long we've known each other now?"

Roxas looked up from his root beer and stared across the table. Axel had his arms crossed upon the table and he was staring right at him. "Uhm, about three months, I think."

Axel clicked his tongue up at the blonde. "'round that."

"So...?"

"So? Don't you think that's...amazing? _Three_. Count 'em."

Roxas shoved his hands into his lap and started to fiddle with his thumbs. "Something special you wanna..._do_? What, is this like your idea of an anniversary?"

He could barely feel the color begin to rise in his cheeks. And even when he laughed sheepishly about it, the question still remained a problem. Anniversary? Wasn't that was _couples_ celebrated? But...he wasn't planning for this thing between him and Axel to actually go so far. It'd been three months, yeah. But other than figuring out about each other's favorite colors, their fashion sense and hobbies, they hadn't supplied enough info for this to be mutual! Ohh...

Noticing Roxas' stunned silence, Axel leaned back into his chair and softened his stare a bit—just to get into that concerned spot. Come on, they_ had_ to be on the same page by now, right? Three months! Aside from his own family that was floating around somewhere over the rainbow, Axel had found himself in _the_ longest relationship with _anyone_. _Ever!_ It was pretty exciting to know that, too. No, he wasn't being stupid in jumping to conclusions and mapping out the future so hastily.

Roxas was...Roxas was really _something_.

"That bother you?" he asked, drawing an invisible circle on the glass table.

The summer sun was beating down on the town that day and sitting _outside_ sure wasn't helping Roxas' situation a _bit_. Yeah, it hurt to look back at Axel and see that he was staring at him so...so..._kitty_-like, but at the same time Roxas just wanted to be able to nod with confidence and say that everything was how it should be. Roxas had to remember that Axel was a guy who wasn't fully capable of taking care of himself. _One slip up_ was all it would take for him to go tumbling, tumbling down.

He just...always had to be there for him.

Roxas smiled into his cup and after setting it back down on the table, looked straight into Axel's half shut eyes to say, "No. Doesn't bother me."

Suddenly, the redhead's frown flipped and his eyes couldn't've shone more even if they wanted to. Right then was the moment that Roxas _knew_ that he'd done something right. He just wanted him to feel safe, you know? To feel accepted and all the things he hadn't gotten in that old club.

"Can it be official?" Axel asked, sitting up in his chair.

Roxas shrugged. "Your call."

It sure didn't take even a _second_ for the answer to come. In fact, it wasn't even a verbal answer that Roxas got. He just...shot his hand out and placed it firmly atop his own on the table. He felt the table shake—the town, the _world_. And even long after Axel had touched his hand, Roxas could still feel his world spinning faster and faster out of control. Even when the light and the heat intensified, he didn't feel uncomfortable. He didn't feel out of place.

All he could feel was a touch...and all he could do was watch those green, green eyes trace every outline of their fingers.

* * *

**hmhm. axel is "kitty-like." i ADORE the image that gives me. it's giving me the urge to purchase that one axel plush online! i'm pretty positive that i have compulsive buying disorder. CBD. yeah. it's like the alphabet, but with C and B in the wrong place. i think that's a very reasonable name for a mental disease. i'm betting that over 90 percent of the world population is suffering to the hand of CBD! and what do we do about it? _invent more PRODUCTS. _xO**

**this is the only way that society runs. ON MONEY AND ITEMS. MATERIALISM! sigh. and i'm guilty of that. bah.**

**hm. i'm wondering what kind of music axel would dance to. daft punk? nah...maybe. or maybe hip-hop is more his forte. yeah. i can picture him swaying to that a bit more. or benny benassi could work as well. xD imagine with me! DO IT. YOU WANT TO.**

**_i think roxas is feelin' the love,  
kokoro77_**


	3. The F Word

**Author's Note: "bloody chicken." hmhm. i was just thinking about watching harry potter today, and that was the first thing that came to mind. sorry, but i just really love draco malfoy with a PASSION. i really don't understand why people find tom felton gross! he's alright, you know. better looking than daniel radcliffe in most movies. tsk.**

**anyway, sorry again to the people that thought this would be "the epilogue." for you people that don't know what in the heck i'm talking about, you'll find out at the last chapter, mkay? i promise. xD until then, hmhm, it turns out that i might have more chapters to update! not just two like i originally predicted. gosh, i didn't realize that this was so long...**

**oh? what's this? roxas is a _STILL A VIRGIN!_?**

* * *

Virgin!Roxas?

* * *

Two months later, Roxas had moved out of the house. Yep. Vic-to-_ry _for leaving the comfort from under his mother's roof _before_ his 20 year old brother could even _begin_ to scower the pages for his own bachelor pad. He figured that being independent would work wonders on his body and mind for a while, so both he and good ol' mommy dug through neighborhood after neighborhood for a suitable apartment. And, whadayaknow? Snagged one _right_ by the ocean—Roxas' most favorite place in the world.

_Also_, he and Axel had been meeting up a lot more often, even on the days when both of them had work. They exchanged addresses and promised to visit one another at least every weekend. Ice cream licking, soda drinking, movie watching...they'd get to do it all.

Needless to say that Roxas felt the best he'd felt...in years.

Now it was just the beginning of August—last month of summer, last month to feel the spice of life and all the eclectic joys it could bring. Roxas was still pretty damn happy. After all, he'd be turning 20 next month.

He'd known Axel for a grand total of five months now...and they'd been an item for two months. Two _whole_ months. Roxas was surprised that both of them were even still _alive_. But they were what they were. And, surprisingly, Roxas was going through something much better than what he originally expected.

What-a-_life_.

"...Hey."

Roxas glanced over his bare shoulder with his eyes just barely fogged over. He smiled thinly, scoffed and turned back to the newspaper and untouched bowl of cornflakes sitting on the table.

"Hey," he replied in a croaky voice. Before he could begin to read the first sentence about some guy getting into trouble in that one place at this one time, his whole body shook upon the familiar contact between skin against skin. Sure enough, after he'd peered down at his collarbone, two arms were wrapped loosely around his neck.

Hm. Hello.

"Thought you got up an' left without sayin' bye."

The blonde ran a couple fingers through his hair and propped an elbow onto the table. "That'd be sorta...rude, don't you think?"

With that, Axel's arms tightened around Roxas' neck and the blonde could suddenly feel something wet teasing his left earlobe. Even at seven in the morning, Axel just couldn't stop being a crazed sex god. He laughed at the thought and rolled his head back to stare up at the ceiling. Axel still followed his movement and began to nip below his jaw.

"I was _one_ happy guy last night, Rox," the redhead muttered into the blonde's smooth skin. He could barely feel tiny bumps forming underneath his lips. "I'm serious."

"Yeah?"

Slowly, Axel's kissing ventured further down with a hand nearly clutching on to one side of Roxas' chest—feeling a faint heartbeat building up underneath the skin that only he had the permission to see. Roxas tasted like salt and something sweet mixed into one.

After being with Roxas for so long and after finally being able to really _be _with him last night, Axel had learned a pretty great thing. He honestly didn't need some upbeat song to always have a good time—to dance or to please the way he'd done so many times before.

In fact, with Roxas, all he needed was a touch. From there, being in a dark room was like being in one of those old private booths, only with more space to move, more air to breath and with one person that he actually _wanted_ to please. He just didn't _want_ Roxas, he needed him. To him, Roxas was acting like a little ball of light in this financial and social aftermath. Roxas was amazing. Roxas was bright.

Roxas was _something_.

A tiny smile formed on the redhead's lips on that thought.

"Stop stealin' my cereal, will ya?" With that, Axel paused from his kissing to smile wider and push away from a bewildered Roxas' back. He sauntered toward the kitchen sink and started to stare out the window at the already busy streets of town.

Roxas straightened up in his chair and, before getting up to get changed, gave Axel a semi-dirty look as he replied, "It's what you get for stealin' my virginity."

* * *

You Gotta Do The Cooking By The Book

* * *

"_So, you're doin' alright all by yourself?"_

"Yeah. I'm perfectly fine over here. Why? You worried 'bout me?"

"_Psh. As if!"_

"Aw. Does my older bro miss me that much?"

"_No. It's actually better now that I can steal your room. Now I have more space to throw all my stuff around! Thanks for movin' out, Rox."_

Roxas scoffed loudly as he held the phone in place between his chin and his shoulder. Living by himself, the very first thing he had to learn to do _before_ how to work with the cable, was how to cook. Yeah. Mommy stuff. But he had to do it or else he'd end up like a piece of paper on the side of the street. He tried to keep the ever-so-heart-warming convo between brothers going while he paced around the kitchen with a bowl of mud looking stuff under his arm.

"Trust me. You should be seriously thinking about following suit, Sora."

There was a pause. Already Roxas would picture Sora all quiet and picking at his teeth while watching Jerry Springer on the other line, when _secretly_...he was distraught inside.

"Come on. You _so_ wanna get outta there."

"_...No. Why would I wanna?"_

"The sooner the better. Let's see...you'll...get TV time all to yourself! And your rules are _your rules_. No more of mom's bickering, right?"

Another long pause. Sigh.

Roxas placed the bowl atop the counter and tried to wipe the flour away from his forehead while his other hand took hold of the phone again. "Right?" he repeated firmly, even though all Sora continued to give him was silence and a couple of staged coughs. He ended up giving up on ever hearing a confession, and went back to dealing with his cooking.

"See, I learned somethin' new today."

"_What's that?"_ Sora asked, sounding bored out of his skull.

"You know how my birthday's comin' up in a few weeks, right?"

"_Yeeeah?"_

"Big 2-0?"

This obviously seemed to excite Sora since Roxas heard something fall onto the floor and some heavy rustling. Probably just got outta bed, no doubt. Hm. And it was, what, already eight at night? Geez, what a couch potato!

"_You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?"_

Roxas shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Most likely _not_. I am _not_ going out to look for another strip club, dude."

And, just like that, Roxas could tell that Sora's endorphins took a major plunge by the sound of a muffled groan and loud static. Yeah. Sora most likely flopped his head back down on the comforter. What, did his brother's hyped up energy run on sex and sex alone? Alright, so maybe "couch potato" was an understatement, then.

"_You're no fun," _Sora sulked.

"I was just gonna hang out here on my birthday, you know. Invite some...people over maybe." Ok, so that was really a _lie_. He wasn't gonna invite_ some_ people over...just one. The name really isn't necessary, is it? Roxas licked off the chocolate mix from his thumb before he began pouring it into a round pan. What's a little white lie to anyone, huh? "Anyway, I learned how to make a cake, basically."

"_Bet you learned from mom, right?"_

"Nope. All my own. It's a great talent you pick up livin' by yourself."

"_Hah."_

"It's 'cause I can't afford to go buy a fancy cake or anything, so I figure making one would be better. I'll send you some when I get the chance."

A short pause followed that comment, and Roxas just figured that Sora was busy thinking about cake. What icing? What flavor filling if any? Small? Big? Red? Blue? Applesauce? All that jazz going through his brother's head, right? When, in reality...it wasn't.

"_...You know, all funny stuff aside...I sorta wish you didn't live so far away."_

Hearing Sora's voice dramatically alter like that made Roxas nearly drop the spoon into the sink and the phone onto his unsuspecting foot. It wasn't often that Sora took life seriously. He was always taking life by the horns and hoping that, one day, all his problems would be answered by a magic genie that lived in a lamp he'd find in a dumpster. Yeah, Sora was, in short, a pretty rowdy guy who didn't abide by the rules much...

And when he'd drop his voice like _that_, Roxas knew he had to listen. 'Cause he wasn't _that_ Sora—he was the one he'd actually grown up with.

"Really?" Roxas asked, crossing his arms as he leaned against the sink.

"_...Yeah. And...you know I'm...proud of you and everything. So don't go getting the wrong idea that I'm happy that you left the house, Rox, ok?"_

Roxas didn't respond.

"_Kinda sad that you'd need to send some of that cake of yours in the mail just for it to get here, you know."_

Both of them chuckled before both ends fell into silence. Suddenly, Roxas couldn't even hear the television set in the background of Sora's voice. He must've turned it off just to keep concentrated.

"Sora—"

"_Even worse that I'm not gonna make it there for your birthday..."_

Roxas bit the corner of his lip in worry. Boy, now he really felt bad for moving out. In fact, looking around at his apartment and into the dark living room ahead of him, he started to think that being alone wasn't as great as he'd described to Sora. Really.

"...Sora?"

"_Yeah?"_

He took a second to pause and think of what to say. He didn't think it would be so hard to have a solid conversation with his own brother before. They'd always crack jokes over the phone, and probably only had three, serious, one minute conversations in a year. He wanted to say a lot of things, actually. But to say them all at once would be pretty hard on the guy...

So with a deep breath, he lifted the phone to his mouth and spoke in a slow, tired voice. "...There'll be other b-days. Don't feel bad."

He heard Sora swallow against the speaker. _"It's gonna be hard, man. You were there for mine."_

"You can always drive down here to the shore, you know. I mean...sure, I miss you, too. We can pay each other a visit when we can. Don't force yourself to come all the way out here every weekend."

"_...I kinda feel like I should. You're my baby bro."_

Roxas let out a weak chuckle and a smile while looking down at his socks. Yeah, he was the baby brother in the family. No one expected him to move on so fast. Everyone expected that he'd _at least_ call mommy for help once a week—maybe twice. But, no. He was...doing alright. And the sad thing was, no one could find out why. Roxas wouldn't let them figure out why he was doing alright. But that just made him feel stupid for being embarrassed...

"I'd better go, Sora," he muttered with his chin pulled closer to his chest.

Sora scoffed lightly and Roxas heard him adjust his body on his bed, or wherever he was. _"Yeah, you get back to doing all that mommy stuff, 'kay? I'll call ya! Your big 2-0!" _He then clicked his tongue, and Roxas guessed that the new and improved Sora was back. Well, they'd made _some_progress with these telephone calls—this serious one happened to last _two_ minutes.

When all the goodbyes and hollers were said and done, Roxas didn't go back to his personal cooking show right away. He stood there...and stood there—just staring at his socks while he continued to bite at the corner of his lip like there was something wrong with it. But really, there was something wrong with _him_.

To be embarrassed to come out and say that he'd been out and about with some erotica on a daily basis just wasn't right! But even though it wasn't, he knew, deep inside, that his _entire_ posse of friends and family would _break _if they knew. Break!

With a sigh, his eyes ventured up from the floor to the opposite wall where one white clock was nailed up on the wall—really the only decoration he had in the entire house. It was now 8:20. He'd been talking with Sora for a little over half an hour. And, 'cause of that, he was gonna be _late_. Late, late, fucking _late_!

_Again_, Roxas nearly dropped all the crap he'd been holding on that thought—only this time, he succeeded in dropping the phone right on his big toe.

"_Fuck_!" he grated out, reaching down to pick up the phone and hold his foot at the same time. "Ah, damn it. 8:20, 8:20." He couldn't stop repeating the time to himself—in his head, out loud. It wasn't like anyone would hear! Ok, maybe the neighbors, but they kept to themselves most of the time. Just some old people that—

Anyway.

Still spitting out cusses faster than his tongue could move, Roxas stumbled out of the kitchen—leaving his chocolate mess to sit alone on the white countertop—and ran into the pitch black stillness of his living room. He didn't bother to fumble around with the lighting at the moment, so in pretty much nothing but a white tank top, some black basketball shorts and his checkered jacket, he threw himself against the front door, unlocked it and flew out onto the balcony.

"Shit, it's _freezing_!" Well, it _was_ close to the end of summer anyway. Destati got pretty cold right on schedule. That was just Mother Nature's way of saying "I rule this world, so either deal or piss off." Yeah. Hm. _Thanks,_ Mother Nature. What a great way to treat a kid that's new to this "living alone" crap. Roxas knew that he wasn't about to get a reply, so he quickly sprinted toward the stairs and down four floors to get to the street.

Now this...was a bad thing. Roxas didn't own a freakin' _automobile_. Car. No. Car. But, as persistent as he was, Roxas just shoved his hands into his jacket pockets and bolted down the sidewalk toward the shopping district...which was three blocks away. Boy, this would be fun.

Another thing he didn't own? A watch. So he had to rely on his trusty cell phone for the time. He still grumbled to himself when he pulled it out, and increased the number of cusses by about 90 percent after discovering that it was 8:24.

"Oh..._please _pick up the phone." At least the sky wasn't _completely_ black just yet. With just the right shade of purple and blue in the sky, Roxas was able to see the keys on his phone long enough to punch in that one number that he knew so well. He just didn't think he'd be calling the damn number right now.

Boy, Axel was sure gonna be pissed when he'd show up, wasn't he?

Maybe that was why he wasn't picking up...

"Damn!" And instantly, Roxas took off running—flour stained and all.

* * *

Fuck Me

* * *

"Alright, another cross and a turn and I should be home free..." Roxas muttered to himself as he looked both ways on the intersection. It wasn't like many people in town used cars at this time of the night, so he really didn't get why he'd had to wait at three freakin' crosswalks to cross! Sigh. This wasn't Mother Nature's doing. It was just simple, plain, "I'm pretty much smarter than you" Technology.

Finally, the hand across the street transformed into a blinking guy signaling to cross. Roxas skipped down onto the crosswalk and made a mad dash to the opposite sidewalk. Most of the convenient stores that he'd been passing were open, but the owners inside were either sleeping or watching television in the back. They each paid no attention to him as he walked right past their windows and made faces.

A few more steps got Roxas to a wooden fence used to encompass some basketball court that was scheduled to open up next spring. Axel had promised that the two of them would make it to the grand opening and would be the first to make a slam dunk. Of course, being Axel, he just made that out to be an innuendo and started laughing as Roxas smacked him upside the back of his head.

Roxas tried to bite back a smile as he sauntered down the sidewalk and got closer to the corner he had to turn. He was supposed to meet up with Axel outside of the video store he worked at. According to him, he quit the Burger King last month and went to look for a job with a less "I can't get this freakin' smell out of my clothes and hair" environment. So the video store it was.

Which meant that working longer hours was the norm, sad to say. But, no matter. That just meant more time on the weekends, didn't it? That time, Roxas forgot to hold a smile back and he turned that corner a little less worried. What was he thinking about Axel being pissed that he wouldn't be there at exactly 8:30? Axel wasn't that kind of guy! He was most likely just standing out there, sitting pretty and waiting like a puppy dog. Ok, maybe not a puppy dog...

"_...I want you to say something."_

"_What...ahh...what?"_

Suddenly, Roxas froze. Upon hearing that voice, Roxas' eyebrows rose faintly in uncertainty. He looked to the right where he spotted the video store illuminated across the street...no one was standing outside waiting. No one with their arms crossed or their head turned down toward the pavement. No one.

But that _voice_. It wasn't where it was supposed to be. And right after Roxas stared forward, that's when he realized that neither was the owner. This wasn't waiting...was it? This was just...

There, pressed firmly against the rickety fence, was a familiar looking shadow—Axel. Even more shocking was the second party hovering over him—both hands slammed beside Axel's head so he could be held in place. For Axel, there was nowhere to run. But from where Roxas was standing, it didn't look like he wanted to. He stood there, cold and struck _dumb_ by the scene of _his boyfriend_ being pinned and bitten and possibly violated by some stranger he couldn't see the face of.

As if things couldn't get any worse than that, Roxas noticed a familiar squeaking sound pierce right through the darkness, and just like that his chest began to feel heavier and heavier. Crushed, destroyed, _mortified_. That squeaking noise...

Leather.

Their voices came again, although Axel's groaning was more perceptible.

"_Fuck...me. A-ah..."_

"_Like that...just like that."_

Roxas wanted to cry, but his eyes stung too much from the cold slashing at his face, his bare legs...his hands. It hurt, but it didn't. He wanted to look away, but he couldn't—his feet wouldn't let him. Was this just some kind of _joke_? No...how—how would it be a—a _joke_? Joke's didn't hurt this much. Not this much.

"A-Axel..." Roxas whispered, not meaning for it to come out at all. But somewhere in the confines of his brain, he knew that it had to. Otherwise, it wouldn't stop. In fact, the second he said it, the moaning stopped, the squeaking stopped and at the same time both their heads turned in Roxas' direction.

The stranger—sweating with his blue hair frizzed and tangled—shot his yellow eyes right through Roxas and scowled at him, while Axel's wide, venom ones could only stare straight at him all lost and remorseful. That was the first time that Roxas thought that Axel was a lot smaller than anyone in the world. His back was slack, his arms were at his sides...no shirt, pants unzipped and about ready to drop...

"...Roxas." Axel tried to shift his body in hopes that he'd be able to get away, but all the blue haired guy did was bury his face into Axel's neck and press his body hard against the redhead to keep him from running. Axel squinted and Roxas could clearly tell that he suddenly wasn't enjoying the stranger's company anymore.

He didn't respond.

"Roxas...get outta here."

He didn't respond.

"Just—you have t' go," he panted. "You gotta get outta here. G-go..._ah_!" That time, Roxas really heard the pain in Axel's words. He wasn't sure if he was in trouble or not, but at the moment he figured that he shouldn't bother. Axel was too busy to hang out. Too busy to wait.

So, before the redhead could even finish his sentence completely, Roxas already had his back turned so he could break into a run back down the three blocks he came. Only, he didn't bother to wait for the little walking man on the crosswalks to tell him what to do.

He just ran—flour stained, tear stained, cold...and all.

* * *

After The Beep

* * *

"_Hey, this is Roxas. Sorry I couldn't pick up right now. Please leave a message and I'll be sure to get back to you."_

Two days after the "incident", Roxas' phone was ringing off the _hook_. He already knew why, but he just didn't bother. He just made up the excuse that he was too busy baking a cake—which he'd never put in the damn oven—to answer the phone at the moment. In all honesty, he was pissed. Miffed. 

_Wrecked_. Had he been lied to since day one? What really got him, was that Axel actually had the gumption to _call_ him.

Let's talk about this. Let's meet up for coffee. Let's hold hands while walking down the beach for a little chit-chat.

Fuck. That.

When his apartment phone stopped ringing on the third day, Roxas was finally able to go through his voicemail and delete every single message sent without having to listen to them. But, on one of the messages, he made the mistake of pressing the wrong button and ended up having to hear the first couple of words—I'm sorry. But he_ wasn't_, Roxas thought. He _knew_ that he wasn't!

It was because of this stupid ordeal that he had to call in sick for work on Monday—the third day. Since he was always a hard worker, he wouldn't get in trouble for skipping even two weeks. Heck, he could skip a month if he really wanted! He wanted to...but he couldn't.

Love wasn't supposed to get in the way like that.

But, as Roxas flopped onto his bed on Monday night and shoved his head under his pillow, he rethought that statement. No. Love probably wasn't a factor in this whole thing. Had he really been with Axel for a sincere relationship? Or was he just there because he felt he _had _to be? Roxas groaned and let out a half sob as he pulled tighter on the edges of the pillow in hopes that it would make him pass out from loss of air.

"_Don't_ think about it, Roxas," he grumbled to the sheets. "You'll be ok..."

Great. Who was he supposed to invite over for his birthday now? He just punched the pillow thinking about that one.

"_Roxas...get outta here."_

What was that supposed to mean? What context was he supposed to put that in? Was that an angry demand or a word of caution? He didn't know...he just..._didn't know_.

_Bzz Bzz_

"Hm?" Roxas opened his eyes and took a second to quickly peek out from under his pillow. As he expected, there was his cell phone lit up in the darkness of his room atop his nightstand—vibrating like crazy. He hesitated for a second, two seconds, three, before he finally gave in and reached out to look at the screen. He squinted at the blue LED light and read the caller's name out loud.

"Axel..." He blinked after that and simply placed the cell facedown on the nightstand. Yes, he'd hesitated a little more than three seconds before putting it down, but he _did_ put it down. "Give up, will you?" he hissed and returned to sulking under his covers. Sulk, sulk—

_Bzz Bzz_

"For the love of—"

_Bzz Bzz_

"This guy doesn't quit!"

_Bzz Bzz_

"It's _one in the morning_, Axel..."

_Bzz Bzz_

Roxas figured that talking and complaining with a buzzing noise wasn't going to help him get to sleep faster, so with one last aggravated groan, he snatched the cell phone and threw it halfway across the room where it landed somewhere in the abyss with a loud thud. The buzzing still persisted like a fly that refused to die even after having all its legs snapped off. Roxas just wasn't going to give into it. Nuh-uh. He wasn't.

He should've known better than to play along with Axel. He should've _known better _than to give _him_ the say in whether or not they go steady.

It wasn't right what was happening. And judging by the constant vibrating for the next fifteen or so minutes, Roxas had a feeling that Axel was thinking the same thing. But he wouldn't listen.

Sleep. Sleep it off. Go on. Go _on_.

"_I was one happy guy last night, Rox."_

No, he wasn't...

"_I'm serious."_

No, he _wasn't_.

"_Oh, look at me. Please look at me, Roxas..."_

_Bzz Bzz_

Shut up, shut up, _shut UP._

_Please._

...So for the next eight hours, yeah, Roxas slept peacefully. Little did he know that somewhere else, someone wasn't so lucky.

"_Hey, this is Roxas. Sorry I couldn't pick up right now. Please leave a message and I'll be sure to get back to you."_

* * *

**OF _COURSE_ roxas isn't a virgin! silly you, thinking that he was a _virgin_. ...does that remind anyone of that one madonna song? no?**

**let's see...oh! are we starting to sense a bit of TROUBLE? if you're not, i feel incredibly sorry for you. what happens when the hurricane hits around your neighborhood, then?? do you NOT SENSE THE FEAR?? well, alright. i suppose i should envy you people instead. xO that aside, i just thought it would be fun to incorporate a little _twist_ in here. yum. i like it when there's tension. what? i'm NOT a sadist. _i just appear as one A LOT._**

**still there? well, review, please and thank you!**

_**does roxas need to slap a bitch?  
kokoro77 **_


	4. SLUT!

**Author's Note: this is becoming annoying...having to create CHAPTERS. but that's alright. because it gives me something to do this summer, now doesn't it?**

**gah. suspenseful, isn't it? _wouldn't you like a profession AT NIGHT_?**

* * *

My Profession...By Night, I Mean

* * *

Roxas' cell phone had made a new home somewhere in his room for that night and the following day. He didn't bother to find it. Besides, the calling had already stopped! Even so, there wouldn't be a point in trying to pick it up. He was beginning to think that the second he'd touch it, there it'd go—vibrating and begging for attention. Nope. It _wasn't_ gonna happen. This was a serious grudge he had.

Seriously.

"Yeah...yeah, I'm still feeling a little bad today. Mmhm. I know. Yeah, I will. Ok. Ok, thanks. Bye." With a sigh and a fake smile, Roxas quietly set the home phone on the couch and tried his best to snuggle into the cushions. His boss was still as understanding about his mystery illness as ever.

Last night was _bloody-murder_. Yeah, he'd gotten his eight hours of sleep, but it wasn't _extremely_ peaceful. He'd tossed...and turned a bit...

So now it was six o'clock and the town was already falling into night. Roxas clicked the television off—realizing that for the past couple of hours all he'd been doing was staring at one corner of the thing anyway—and returned to laying quietly until he'd fall asleep.

"Hm."

"_Fuck...me. A-ah..."_

No.

"_Something bothering you?"  
_

_No_.

"_...You're cute."_

No, no, fucking NO.

"No, no—"

And then the doorbell rang.

Roxas quickly opened his eyes and vacantly stared around the darkness of the living room. He could feel a cold sweat slipping easily down the nape of his neck and it caused familiar shivers to travel down his spine. Shaking it off, he threw his feet on the floor and tried his best to stand after being a vegetable for the entire day on the couch. He'd _heard_ something...but what? For a minute he just stood there—staring around like a lost kid—before that sound came back to his ears.

_Ding-dong..._

"Uh...h-hold up," he called out weakly to his right where the front door was waiting eagerly for him to answer. Ok, _this_ was strange. He hadn't opened the door for anyone at _this_ time of the day before. Even his own _mother_ hadn't come by for a visit yet. He tried not to remember her at the moment, and instead strolled up to the door while ruffling his hair up a bit. He couldn't look like a _slob_.

It felt like an eternity before Roxas finally managed to wrap his lanky fingers around the doorknob, unlock the deadbolt and let the last bit of summer waft into his apartment. For a minute, yeah, it felt good to be able to touch summer again. But the harsh reality was that it was leaving, and up ahead was one big, cold slap in the face.

"...Hey," Axel muttered, breaking the silence that'd been floating in Roxas' apartment for days. Roxas simple stared...and stared...and kept his hand loosely holding onto the doorknob. Right there, he wanted to cry again, but, as usual, he couldn't. He wanted to scream again, but his throat wouldn't open up. Nothing was working the way it was supposed to.

He didn't respond and continued to stare at Axel who was standing out there in the darkness with the summer wind blowing his crimson hair to one side. Of course Roxas thought he was attractive like that. Of _course_ he thought that Axel was attractive even when he wasn't smiling. Just the fact that he was wearing those pants again made the image a little less appealing.

Those boots, that belt, no shirt. First day all over again...

Axel stared down at the blonde with his eyes narrowed and his arms crossed over his bare chest. "I'm not here for _this_," he quickly slapped his hands on the front of his legs before adding, "if that's what you're thinking."

Roxas still kept to himself.

"You weren't answerin' the phone, you know." He rubbed behind his neck and with that there was a long pause. At first, when Roxas sighed and opened his mouth, Axel looked up hopefully and was more than ready to hear the guy _talk_ to him. He just didn't expect the door to shake and come flying at his face.

"I know," Roxas said flatly as he clutched the knob and started to commit the first door-in-face act in his life. The only problem was that Axel's hand was a bit faster. Instantly, the redhead reacted and stuck both his foot and his hand out in between the door and the frame. And back in the darkness of the living room, all Roxas could do was stare in bewilderment...all over again.

There wasn't much he could do after that. Roxas stared when the door was stopped. He stared when it creaked and pushed back open. He stared when Axel came back into his view...and he stared when Axel actually set _foot_ in the apartment. Ok, so was this the time to freak out and slap the sense out of him? Or was this the time to talk? He didn't know.

"Listen, Roxas..." Axel stopped, heaved a sigh toward the ceiling and started over, turning his attention to his—hopefully—_not_ ex-boyfriend. Why was Roxas standing all the way over there? "...You gotta listen t' me."

Roxas considered it, and all the time he did, the entire _complex_ fell into silence. He didn't think that the neighbors slept _this_ early...but that would probably work to his advantage. With the front door still wide open, the whole world could potentially hear their conversation going on inside, but if they were asleep, heck, they were safe. They were safe...so they could talk, and he could listen the best he could.

"...Ok," he replied in a hoarse voice. Axel's eyes flashed at that, but they fell cold the second Roxas continued to say, "Let's start with your get-up."

At first Axel let out the beginning of a chuckle before he caught himself and compared it to the situation at hand. That...wouldn't work out so nicely. Instead, he blinked and stared down at his old "costume" uneasily.

"I...told you I quit workin' at the fast food place, right?"

Roxas nodded.

"I _did_ leave the place, ok? That's not a lie."

"Lie...?"

"The thing is—you know...I—"

"What?"

"I didn't—I didn't get a solid job after I quit. See, I—I jus' didn't wanna work at some rundown place like that again."

Suddenly, Roxas could feel his toes curling nervously in his socks. He had a bad feeling about what Axel was about to say, and he knew that neither of them would like it.

And that was the truth. After a staggered sigh, Axel took a step closer toward Roxas and continued in a dejected voice, "...Prostituting."

One. Word. That was it. That was what it took for Roxas to snap.

He didn't say anything immediately, he didn't move immediately. He just stared again, and shook his head once the word began to seep into his brain. Prostitution? _Pro-_sti-_tu-_tion? It seeped lower and lower...until it hit that one special place where Roxas felt like he'd been stabbed repeatedly.

Ouch.

Roxas slowly brought a shaky hand to his temple where he began to massage at a sore spot under his skull. He could feel his chest pumping hard under his shirt...and it _hurt_. More than anything.

"S-so...that's why—that's why you were—"

"I couldn't let you know."

"A-and the guy you were—you were _with_—"

"He was—"

"I just don't—"

"Roxas—"

"Why in the hell would you go off and do something as _stupid_ as that, Axel!?" Roxas exploded right when he'd backed far enough away to be standing in the kitchen. None of the lights were on in the house, but that didn't matter. If he saw Axel's face full on, he knew that he'd been yelling right at him and wishing, more than anything, that he could slap him over and over and _over_...

Axel held his tongue and kept his eyes to the floor. Let Roxas vent...let 'im vent.

"I—I don't get _why_! Were you just—just flaunting around out there for the attention!? Or the _money_!? Was that honestly all that fucking _mattered_ to you? Did you _miss_ being back at the fucking night club, Axel!? Missed all the guys that _stared _at you and told you things that made you feel_ special_!? You wanted 'em to just _fuck_ you, right!? Am, I right!? 'Cause you wanted that fucktard to last week, huh!? You _wanted to_!"

Axel shook his head once, unable to reply.

Roxas shook his own head and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. He wasn't crying buckets of tears, but they were starting to prick a little. As the eye-sting started to take effect, Roxas started to pace the kitchen floor as his headache pounded deeper into his head.

"You know, it's like I've been with you for absolutely _NO _reason, Axel. It's like I didn't do _squat_ in trying to turn your life around. Did I make you _bored_!? Was that it? You wanted more bang for your buck? Huh. O-or—or maybe that's reversed, right? Maybe it's _those_ douche bags out there that get one _helluva _bang, know what I mean? Did I honestly _bore_ _you_?"

Roxas started to laugh steadily in between question after question he threw out for Axel to catch. But Axel never answered them. He was just...too caught up in guilt to feel compelled to answer.

"You—you mind answering something for me _point blankly_? That sound familiar? Huh? It should! 'Cause you caught me like this the day we _met_, remember? Like being under the fucking spotlight. Doesn't it feel like that? I—"

Quickly, Roxas brought a hand up to his mouth where he clapped it over his lips. With one hand on his hip, he shut his eyes tightly and bit down on the tip of his tongue to keep from speaking for a while. In truth, it just added to the hurt to be saying things like this to Axel. Roxas _thought_ it would feel fantastic, but it just...it was worse. Nothing good was gonna come out of this conversation.

Another few minutes passed before Roxas opened his glossy eyes and brought his hand back to his side. He allowed a shaky sigh to slip through his lips before the spit-fire would follow promptly behind.

"...You think you're a slut now?"

It was after that question that Roxas noticed the volume change in his voice. Even if the neighbor's were deaf and asleep, he had a feeling that his voice could still be heard floors below them. He didn't think that he'd have to _yell_ to get his point across, but with Axel, what other way _was_ there? The guy was unruly; the guy would never listen unless the phrase got repeated at least more than twice. The more Roxas thought about it, the more he was able to compare Axel's traits with his own brother's—Sora's.

And he cried on that thought. Barely made a peep, but with the world so frozen, Axel heard him.

God, Roxas didn't wanna be seen or _heard_ crying like that, even though he knew that Axel was just keeping quiet because he _could_. But the rest of the town shouldn't. So with a quick wipe-off with the back of his hand again, Roxas bolted for the front door which was still hanging there—waiting for someone to come by and shut it up good for the night. He sniffed and swallowed down tears by the time he reached the doorframe, and with one hand he pushed the door until it once again left the apartment drenched in black...

But not for long.

Roxas assumed that the one-man banter would pick up from there. He had a feeling that his head wasn't through coming up with words to spit out. However, _Axel_ wasn't ready to hear more...

A minute had passed, maybe even two, as Roxas still stood there by the door with his forehead pressed firmly against it. He was a silent crier—wasn't one to snot all over the place—but because he hadn't done it in a while, he felt like he was the loudest guy in the entire town. He'd been _lied to—_in a sense, betrayed. Led astray by one guy's good looks...a guy that promised he'd change...

A guy that _knew_ how to comfort...

Wait, what?

Hesitantly, Roxas looked away from the door and over his shoulder where he'd felt a weight pressing against his back. No sooner had he looked did he hear a click go off at his right and the orange tinted lights in the living room show off his drenched face. Sure enough, the first to see that face like that was Axel who honestly couldn't care less. It took a simple grab for him to turn Roxas around so he could hold his trembling body. And so Axel held Roxas against his will...literally pinning the blonde against his own front door.

Roxas had stayed still long enough to see vague, red marks etched at the top of Axel's arms and chest during their light snuggle-fest. But he quickly shut his eyes after seeing them, knowing that those weren't from a fall or slip of any kind. He didn't like thinking about it in detail...

At first, Roxas really did consider staying put longer...but his fingers worked against it. Soon, two of them made way to the knob where they slowly turned it for the last time that night. He liked feeling Axel's skin on his face that way...he liked standing still...most of all, he liked it when Axel would _listen_ and do the same. But it wasn't supposed to happen like that.

Nothing was working the way it should.

With a simple turn, Roxas was able to push away from the door and pull it open half way—just enough for skinny, leather-clad Axel to slip right through back the way he came. Besides, Roxas was sure that he had business to take care of. It made Axel feel better, didn't it? Then to change him wouldn't be the best course to take...not at all.

"...Go," Roxas muttered against Axel's chest. His skin was warm against his cold, tear stained face, but he couldn't feel good with it. If he did, he'd never get Axel to leave that night, would he? Axel's hands tightened around Roxas' waist at a last attempt to make the blonde feel good, but Roxas still persisted.

"You have to go."

Yes, he regretted it. _All _of it. Every word, every gesture that happened to show up during that meeting was gonna haunt Roxas forever, more than likely. And, unfortunately for him, he never did get to hear Axel's reply to his question. Axel simply pressed his head against Roxas' for a short while—smiling sadly to himself—before he finally succumbed to leaving.

So maybe Roxas was wrong. Axel didn't always need someone to yell at him until he'd finally understand.

He shut the door once again, shut the lights, and made sure to take some sleeping pills before bed. Roxas had a feeling that he needed all the help he could get if he wanted to survive this night...and the millions of others that would follow.

* * *

SLUT!

* * *

"_...12:30 on the dot. I tell ya, days sure are gettin' shorter 'round here, aren't they? We should start seein' clouds rollin' in by sundown, so if I were you, I'd head out there and spend summer_—_"_

Unable to connect with his surroundings just yet, Roxas groggily dragged a hand out of bed and fumbled over and over again with the buttons on his clock before he finally shut it off. Right behind his eyes was where it hurt the most that morning, which was unusual considering that it was either his side or his foot that suffered from being in one position for hours on end. He groaned into his pillow and tried to blink it off, only resulting in stinging and prickling with each blink.

Worse, he couldn't speak straight—his throat felt like it'd been slashed at. And that's when it hit him—he'd taken sleeping pills last night. For two nights now, actually. Well, he sure _thought_ that they'd help him sleep like he used to when he'd have a nightlight in his room...

Instead, they made him feel like unmitigated _crap_. He'd woken up late _again_ and he wished he could just go blind _again_.

Suddenly, he just wished that he'd wake up one day and be halfway across the town on his mother's doorstep where he was _supposed_ to be. Ok, not on her doorstep, but around that general area. But if he'd end up there, wouldn't Sora just laugh in his face about it? Wouldn't his mom bitch and moan? Then where was he supposed to go? If he lost his apartment, he couldn't exactly go to a friend's house. They were either _farther_ away, or in _another _town a gajillion miles away.

Then there was Axel's apartment. But Roxas could only imagine what was stuffed in that old place now that he was one of those "nightcrawlers".

Boy, it _always_ hurt when he'd make a snarky comment like that, even in his head. Roxas let out a sigh against his pillow and stared at the top of his nightstand where he'd decided to place his cell phone once again. Yeah, he'd found it last night, but only because he had to charge the damn thing. If he didn't and his mom happened to call, he'd _never_ hear the end of it. So there it was—cold and still beside his alarm clock.

Not vibrating.

Now, Roxas had _no_ idea what influenced him to reach a hand out once again, but not to touch the clock—to grab his cell. Maybe mom _had_ called, or maybe Sora if he was lucky. He'd call back and that would be the schedule for the day—have a seven hour long chat with big bro. But as he lay on his back and flipped the thing open, he noticed something out of place...

_6 voicemails_

"S-six?" he croaked, forcing himself to sit up in bed. Behind him, his curtains were pulled back to allow the afternoon sunshine to flood into his room. While it might've been comforting to feel it, it wasn't enough. Sure, six was a lot of messages for one cell, but considering the time and situation, six wasn't that many. And it bothered him.

Blinking quickly, Roxas began to click through menu after menu in his phone until he reached the one with a little envelope as the icon. After selecting it, a short list of messages appeared on screen—six of them were highlighted. A closer look showed that the first three had been sent at near two minute intervals while the others were sent a bit over five minutes apart. Honestly, Roxas' worry inclined...not just because of the time...

...but because Axel had been the one to send each one.

"Shit," he hissed irately, about ready to select the first message in an instant. Then, he hesitated. It must've been the sleeping pills that made him not hear these things being sent last night. Really, he would've answered at least _one_ if he knew. True story. With guilt tossing him every which way, Roxas finally took in a deep breath, brought the cell to his ear and selected the first message.

"_First message. Sent yesterday at 9:52 PM..."_

"_...Roxas?"_

"_To erase this message_—_"_

Roxas raised an eyebrow in question. "What?" He brought the phone down to eye level and immediately moved on to the next voicemail.

"_Next message. Sent yesterday at 9:54 PM..."_

"_Rox...come on. You gotta pick up th' phone. You_—_these guys aren't gettin' off my back...can't get to my place_—_"_

"_To erase this mess_—_"_

"Ah, _dammit_...!" Roxas spat at the voice and continued on.

"_Next message. Sent yesterday at 9:56 PM..."_

"_Roxas! I need you t' open your door! Roxas! Roxas, you gotta open th' door! R_—_fuck all ya, ya hear me? Get offa my back! Rox, open th' door, open th' door! Please, you gotta_—"

"_To erase_—_"_

Roxas could already feel his sore throat clenching up. He didn't even realize that two of his fingers had made way to his lips in shock. Hastily, he pulled them off and rested them in his lap at an attempt to keep his legs from bouncing on the mattress. Just in the tone of Axel's voice he could tell that something really wasn't right. It sounded like he was panting—possibly running. He'd mentioned someone in the message as if they were...ganging up on him?

Thinking that only pushed Roxas to bite his tongue and hesitate even longer to choose the fourth recording. He didn't want to, he didn't _want to_...but his fingers worked against it.

"_Next message. Sent yesterday at 10:02 AM..."_

"_...Rox_—!_"_

_"To erase this me_—_"_

"Axel..." Roxas muttered, semi-angrily, but mostly in worry and trauma. Was Axel actually _yelling_ for him? For help? He just wished that Axel would've given him more of a lead on that detail. Was he in danger last night?

...Or was he still?

For some reason, the last message could've answered the question better than the previous ones. That was usually how it worked in the movies. And while it felt awful having to relate the situation to a movie, Roxas knew there was some logic behind it. He really just had to depend on instinct for this. He swallowed nervously before his thumb trailed over to the center button and selected the fifth recording.

"_Next message. Sent yesterday at 10:11 PM..."_

"_...Yeah, that's right. SCREAM, you fuckin' SLUT!"_

"_To erase this_—_"_

Without letting the voicemail lady continue to be overly polite and monotonous, Roxas shut the phone with one finger and set it in between his legs softly. He'd heard more than he wanted in that message. It wasn't so much the unknown voice that bothered him, but the sound of Axel groaning in pain in the background.

While he felt like absolute trash, most of his body was going through a major adrenaline rush...as if he hadn't taken any pills at all. Now he was regretting ever swallowing down those things. He could've gotten the calls...he could've..._saved_...

On that thought, Roxas remembered that one of those messages had Axel asking him to open the door..._his _door? As in the front door? With one foot fast asleep and his eyes still tugging behind his lids, Roxas slipped out of bed and began to quickly walk out of the room and into the living room. He nearly forgot the entire layout of his own place!

"Why—why'd I—?" he constantly repeated, incapable of completing the question. With that, he turned his head sharply to the left of the room and spotted the front door—sitting there as usual—waiting for someone to open it and use it for what it was worth. Roxas made a mad dash for that door and once there, he slapped a hand on the surface and the other tightly gripping onto the knob.

No, no. No time for hesitation, dammit. What if Axel was right outside? Just waiting? What if he _was_?

Roxas could already picture Axel simply sitting there with his back against the wall with a cell phone in one hand and a bottle of booze in the other. But, no, Axel wouldn't joke about this happening! He was smarter than that...he wasn't an attention seeker like that. Regardless on if there would be a drunken Axel behind that door or not, Roxas was willing to throw it open and save the guy.

Come on, come on...

But no one was there...

However, blood was.

"What the...hell?"

Roxas' adrenaline was already in the process of skyrocketing out of his system. The sight of blood anywhere else _but_ television was out of whack. While there wasn't a pool just sitting around, it was more than Roxas had ever seen. Tiny gravitational droplets were scattered around his doorstep while a few streaks were painted on the lower part of the spackled wall at his left. And when Roxas turned—still in his black and white PJs and _still_ with a hand to his mouth—there he saw tiny splatters on the white, white door.

"_To erase this mess_—_"_

He wanted to...but couldn't by pressing a button like that.

Roxas slammed the door shut behind him and promptly ran out into the streets.

* * *

Drop On By

* * *

Roxas finally made the decision to call Axel's number when he couldn't find him at or across the video store, the beach or at the ice cream parlor. People were staring at him, people were pointing and gawking. A kid in his PJs and socks at one in the afternoon...

"Pick up, pick _up_..."

"_...Roxas_—_"_

"A-Axel! Wh-where—?"

"_...if you're calling to...talk...sorry. I can't exactly...reach my phone where I'm at. So, you ok with voicemail? But just so you know, you know, what's up with...all this stuff...I screwed up. And I got in trouble...So if you're still up to...visiting...I'm at home. I'll be here 'til I stop feelin' like it. Hm...hahaha..."_

* * *

Reminisce

* * *

Axel started wondering—as he sat there _alone_, dizzy and numb—if he was now considered fucked up, in the other meaning of the phrase. Ah, he was too tired to think about it. Walking around most nights and creeping into places he wasn't meant to be was tiresome enough. But with analyzing and getting beat down on top of that, boy, his body couldn't be any more done in.

Hm. It'd been fun...it'd been fun...

* * *

Su Casa?

* * *

It was 1:14 in the afternoon by the time Roxas could see Axel's apartment complex standing right across the street. Being this late in the afternoon, people were just following the radio announcer's advice in enjoying the last bit of summer left. And here Roxas was—dashing through crosswalks and earning stink-eyes from people when he'd smash against them from behind.

He hated that the residence was an indoor facility—meaning that every single apartment was _inside _with _hallways_ and twists and turns, unlike his own which could be easily accessed by simply going to the top of the stairs and ringing the doorbell. Roxas suddenly felt like moving to Axel's building even though he disliked the atmosphere.

They'd be closer, and there appeared to be more safety.

"This is ridiculous..."

* * *

The Saying Goes: "Curiosity Killed..."

* * *

Oh, did he just blackout again? Hm. That's a funny feeling, blacking out. All he'd done was shut his eyes for a couple of seconds. And now he was awake five minutes later, judging by the clock. Strange that Axel could even _read_ the time right now.

He chuckled and leaned back. Ow. Bruise...

What're the odds of shutting his eyes, and being able to wake up again?

"Let's...not try that one."

* * *

Elevators Fail

* * *

1:20 PM.

He seriously had to wait for some old lady to open the door of the building before he was able to get inside. He couldn't get in without a buzz-in from someone inside the building.

She'd called him a nice boy, asked him if he knew anyone in the apartments and before he even answered she'd waddled off into the partly cloudy day. Roxas watched her go for a second before shaking his head and bolting into the reception area where there were two elevators to his left. He tried to avoid knocking over a potted plant on his way toward them and nearly broke his finger when smashing the up button.

He tapped his foot impatiently on the carpet as the numbers above one elevator began counting down from six. Honestly, did it _take_ this long to count backwards?

So while he waited, Roxas eyed the up button in front of him and upon spotting a droplet of dried red at his feet, ran into that elevator even before it had the chance to open up halfway.

* * *

**holy SHIT. what in the heck happened to poor axel?? i'm pretty sure that those voicemails of his gave SOME speculation. but roxas is too out of it to think. like me. xO honestly, i'd NEVER forgive my boyfriend if he went off and did something as stupid as axel did. i'd pretty much blame him for scarring my mind for eternity and giving me the reason to burn a night club down. or maybe i'll just sit at home and wait for someone ELSE to come around. then again...axel would be hard to give up, don't you think?**

**well, there's one more chapter after this, folks! let's keep truckin' through here...**

**_what's YOUR nighttime profession?  
__kokoro77_ **


	5. Take The Damn Medication!

**Author's Note: sweet deal! you've reached the epic next chapter! i feel like i should give you something...oh, wait...that's not a bad idea.**

**it kind of makes me sad that i didn't think about breaking up this story earlier. :\ ah, well. everyone has those special moments. and for axel and roxas, this is no exception, hm? sigh. i thought that _someone_ had to do a scenario like this one of these days. you know--have roxas doing the saving instead. well, i do that in a couple of stories other than this one, but that's alright. this is an ENTIRELY different situation we've got!**

**on another note: how's everyone's vacation so far? that is if you ARE on vacation...if you are at disneyland, i wish to be you. if you are at home, i AM you. fun, isn't it? _damn gas prices..._**

**oh! has anyone out there heard of George Carlin? the man is/was AMAZINGLY GIFTED with comedy. well, rest in peace, "you old fuck."**

**anyway, hope you enjoy this next chapter! and, no. it does not involve hide-and-seek...hmhmhm.**

* * *

Axel's Hiding Spot

* * *

1:24 PM.

Even standing outside of Axel's apartment, Roxas could feel the cold air from seeping from underneath his door. More than likely, Axel had either left the air conditioner on, or had left a window open. As relaxing as both sounded on a warm day like today, Roxas couldn't help but feel sick to his stomach. Because when it came down to the subject of cold things and relaxation, it just sounded like an eerie euphemism for death.

Now, he'd known Axel for five months—dated him for two and hated/loved him for seemingly forever—and all that time Roxas never managed to get a house key to the guy's apartment. This was a problem. Roxas cupped his chin and began to pace the floor with copious amounts of swearing escaping his lips.

How to get inside, how to get in_side_?

Alright, he'd _knocked_, before you start asking why in the hell it hasn't been brought up. He'd knocked a couple times, and since he knew Axel so well, he knew that that redhead would've been at that door in two seconds flat. But he'd said in his voice message that he was at home, right? He wouldn't lie about that. So there _had_ to be a way inside...

"Shit," Roxas hissed for the umpteenth time. "How the hell am I supposed to get _inside_, Axel?" The sight of two more dried droplets of red at his feet was just egging him on and on and on. Somewhere in the confines of that damn apartment, Axel was either lounging around _alright_, or lounging around anything _but_. Well, this blood sure proved the latter correct.

Roxas paused from his land of pacing and walked up to the door once again, this time with one ear turned toward it so he could hear for a sound on the other side. He came up empty.

"...Axel?" he asked, rapping on the door once. No reply. "Axel, you in there?" Rap, rap, no reply.

That time, the blonde pressed his ear against the door. There could've been an answer inside, but it was just too quiet to hear, right? Right? It was with that thought that Roxas couldn't help but scoff lamely to himself. He was acting like a concerned mother over here—a frantic kid that was in denial about losing a favorite toy.

But Axel _wasn't_ a toy. He wasn't a damn _slut_ either. He was a fucking _person_.

After another knock failed, Roxas placed a hand on the doorknob and began to jiggle it a little—hoping that it was one of those knobs that malfunctioned regularly. To his surprise...it wasn't. It was sure a regular doorknob, only...he could actually _turn _it. Roxas' blood pumped as he gasped and immediately pushed the door open so that the freezing cold air would nip at his face. Axel's living room was pretty vacant—just the usual white couch and television...even the magazines and junk mail were piled up in usual fashion on the coffee table.

With one room down, there weren't many places to go. The kitchen for one, the bathroom and finally the bedroom. But from where Roxas was standing, he could already see into the kitchen, and there was no one. So that just left the bathroom and bedroom. He quietly shut the door—thinking that if he slammed it, he'd frighten somebody—and headed to his right where the short hallway was.

To the left: bedroom. Up ahead: bathroom.

"Ok, ok..." Roxas mumbled to himself when he found that Axel's bedroom door was left wide open. Good. He didn't have to go through another door opening scenario. But when he set one foot inside and held onto both sides of the doorframe, he paused and his contentment plummeted when he saw that no one was there. And, as an added bonus, the place was clean. Bed sheets were tucked in, pillows were propped up in place, clothes folded and hanged...

Odd.

Panting a little, Roxas decided to double check for good measure. "Axel?" he whispered into the bedroom, only to receive what sounded like an echo. He bit his lower lip in frustration...but that was before he remembered that there was another room he hadn't checked out just yet. He nearly smiled...but kept it to himself instead. Alright, time to go.

He pushed away from the doorframe and threw his body in the direction of the end of the hallway. Yeah, _this_ was the moment where his steps felt like they were going on forever—taking their sweetest time step after step after step. Like walking on the moon, like getting stuck in a congested crowd of people on a Saturday afternoon of shopping...and the damn door was only four small steps away.

"Hold on, ok? Wait up..." Roxas hoped that, somehow, Axel would be able to answer him. Sadly enough for him, the bathroom door was shut, but not all the way. Thankfully he could peer inside enough to see the reflection of the towel rack in the mirror. And with one deep breath and one out of control heartbeat, Roxas pushed open that door like he'd wanted its hinges popped clean off.

...But if he'd done that, the door might've flown across the room and..._killed_ Axel, wouldn't it? Only...Axel already looked like he'd been struck with a door, probably something more. Found him..._found him_.

"...H-how—?" Roxas stopped himself the second he realized that there was no way that Axel could respond right now. For a while, he stood there staring as he usually did, because growing up around violence was...just taboo.

But there Axel was—blood here, blood there—mostly on his torso, but they were just speckles. His neck was visibly bruised in multiple places—small blotches ranging from light purple to pink travelled down as low as his collarbone. Not terribly soaked in blood, not terribly injured, but not alright. Definitely not alright.

Roxas didn't panic. He barely even _breathed_. Instead, he just continued to stare as he began the painful process of walking up to the tub where Axel was sitting in. The window at Axel's back was open a crack—enough to let a light breeze into the apartment, and enough for the scent of blood to waft around. Roxas' first move was closing it before he proceeded to sitting on the window ledge and carefully laying a hand on Axel's forehead.

He was cold.

Still in that outfit. Leather and all. Head turned toward the ceiling. Legs pulled up to his chest.

He might've been asleep...Roxas could feel his pulse.

"...Hm. Found me, did ya?"

Roxas' body twitched when he heard Axel's voice sounding just like it had on the phone—right before sleep. And with that, he smiled. Just smiled. A sad one, but a smile nonetheless.

"Yeah. Yeah, I did," he replied with a hand still on his forehead.

"...Rox?"

Roxas looked down at Axel when he stared ahead rather than up at him. It looked like it hurt.

"Yeah. I pretty much classify myself as a slut...jus' t' answer your question."

"I'm not buyin' that," Roxas insisted, furrowing his eyebrows and shaking his head defiantly. "But forget that. Where're you hurt? Are you hurt?" Ugh, what a stupid question to be asking. Of course he's hurt! Don't make things difficult.

Axel scoffed and lazily peered around the white room. He'd made a mistake in leaving little red drops here and there on the floor—even on the floor of the tub, even where Roxas was sitting right now. His head hurt in different places, but most of all, he couldn't take the feeling in his stomach. It wasn't that feeling that people said they'd get when they didn't like the vibe someone was giving them, or the feeling before going on stage. No, it wasn't that.

It just really hurt.

And hearing Roxas respond in alarm like that made the pain come harder and stronger. He winced thinking about it, but managed a smirk in the end.

"...Lotsa places. Yes. And why?" Axel asked as if nothing was wrong. Roxas shook his head.

"Don't gimme that. Be specific."

"You want...specific?"

"That way we'll know what to tell the hospital, got it?"

Just hearing the word _hospital_ stung like hell, but Axel figured that it wasn't _so_ bad. What really bothered him was money. Money was horrible. Just another thing for Roxas to be angry about...and worried about. He shrugged and looked back up toward the blonde's pretty little face with half shut eyes.

"Last night...I got in trouble."

"Y-yeah. I heard in your voicemail." Roxas didn't want to bring the voicemails and calls up. Guilt, guilt...Why weren't those voices going away?

"I wasn't..._planning_ on workin' last night. Wasn't feelin' my best. But you know? I had to...get dressed in this old get-up. Just needed the cash, you know? Ha..."

"What—"

"And you know what it got me caught up in?" Axel looked at the ceiling as if he was setting the night all together again. Roxas still kept a hand on him and both ears open. "Worst night of my life, basically. These guys, you know, they wanted me. Three of 'em."

Roxas shut his eyes and sighed. "Three...huh?" he repeated slowly. Right...Axel's new job...

"Yeah. They just—I dunno. They wouldn't give _up_. Hah. I was walkin' down the sidewalk for home when they rolled down their car window an' tried pullin' me over. Next thing I know, I reject, they get pissed and I'm bein' chased."

"They chased you?"

Axel nodded, still smiling faintly with his eyes shut. Roxas really didn't want him smiling like it was a _good_ thing that he'd been mauled. He wasn't so sure he even wanted to hear the story of how that exactly happened...but he _did_ ask. The doctor's had to believe this _some_how.

"Couple blocks. Bastards ditched their car so they'd be more, ya know," Axel's hand moved toward the edge of the tub where he placed two fingers and made them do a running motion, "close up." Roxas watched Axel's fingers tiptoe along the white tub, trying to picture a face and body to go with it. Running and running like that...

"...And there was your place—standin' a couple-a floors away. Took one look over my shoulder and saw those guys runnin' down the street, so I picked up speed—figured that if I banged on your door I'd wake _someone_ up. Hm. Kinda weird that no one...did."

It was definitely the pills that kept Roxas knocked out. Dammit, he could've _fixed_ this _easily_. He tried to explain himself, but Axel had already continued on with his story—every detail and every thing he _felt_ said with a straight face and a collected voice. And there Roxas was—about ready to shoot himself for being...an _idiot_.

He tried running his fingers through Axel's hair just in case that'd help some. It only made him feel worse when his fingers came back—stained red.

"I got to your door, knocked and started yellin' at ya, but you never showed up. So, I just...stopped, I guess." Axel's fingers stopped walking and he slowly brought them back to his side. "And...they got me." He scoffed and Roxas swore that he felt every single muscle in Axel's body go slack.

"An' one guy tells th' other two t' hold me down. Didn't know what the hell _for_. Thought maybe they just wanted my wallet or something. But I thought 'Nah. They wouldn't've run _that fucking far _jus' for that. And I'm in all places at once! One minute I'm at the wall, kickin' and cussin' on the floor, on your door, standin' up. _Every_where. Those two guys were thrashin' me this way and _this_ way—"

Then, Axel stopped. But not because he didn't want to go on...just because _Roxas_ wanted him to.

He barely felt Roxas' forehead settle on his, but with a little more pressure he knew that maybe he was going too far with details. What was goin' through this kid's head? Honestly, it made him curious. It made him worried. It made him...hurt, for lack of better word. But, thinking back on it, hadn't Roxas _always_ been there for a talk? For a little one-on-one? A nice sit down, a little time out of a busy schedule to _be there_.

Even on the first day they'd met...Roxas might've been resistant, but at the same time he _wanted_ to listen. He wasn't quick to judge him. He wasn't quick to take him for a one-night-stand or just another reject. And because of that...Axel stopped. The least he could do for the kid was give him that same sense of reception.

Roxas had his arms loosely wrapped around Axel's neck while he just sat there with his head dropped and his mind racing. He didn't need to hear the rest of that story. Putting the pieces together was already done and over with.

Violation, or—to put it simply—rape. Yeah. That's what went on outside his apartment. Oh, yeah. Women aren't the _only_ ones prone.

Less than _10 feet away _from his bedside, too.

"...Sorry," Axel muttered to his lap.

Roxas just held that position and sighed. "I'll call for help."

"Hm. Pretty big step for your average dancer, right, Rox?"

"Trust me," Roxas said over his shoulder, "you're not."

* * *

No Sex. Doctor's Order.

* * *

One minor concussion; severe bruising to waist, stomach and ankles; minor bruising to collarbone and wrists; scratches on lower back and inner thigh...

Recovery: 2 weeks.

Bill: 400+

Axel wasn't allowed to be in a place where no one was around, according to Dr. What's His Name.

1) _Always needs attention. 24/7 support from parents, brothers, sisters, grandma, grandpa, girlfriend, wife or any person who happened to be on site at the time._

2) _Take pain killers only as directed on bottle. Refill every month and don't overdose—as with all drugs._

3) _Don't slip, don't trip, fall, kick, punch, run, walk, skip, hop, jump, yell, whistle, work, roll over, play fetch, play tag, play hide-and-seek, draw a picture, write a song, sing a song...or have sex._

Wrote it all down on a nifty piece of yellow paper and sent both Axel and Roxas packing.

Poor yellow paper was thrown out as soon as the meds were purchased. After that, well, no one gave a shit about rules and regulations. Warning signs, precautions...all of it _gone_. Why? Because Axel was a jackass. But a "right one" according to him. And what did Roxas do?

Agree. Agree to be the responsible "parent, brother, sister, grandma, grandpa, girlfriend, wife or any person who happened to be on site at the time." For the next month or two, his one bedroom apartment was Axel's. Indeed it was.

As for the three guys responsible—no one knew. Who? Why? What accident? Phased outta the world apparently.

And what did Axel do then? Didn't give a shit. But he sure thought about three main bullet points.

1) _No work._

2) _No overdose._

3) _No sex._

But, honestly, who cared? Would anyone install cameras and count his sins? Uh, no. So on occasion he'd walk around the apartment—browse the papers for a new job and, yes, pinch Roxas' ass—the one that he would supposedly lose to his old boss at the tech store. And now to earn the 400 back, Roxas was working the return counter at yet _another _tech store.

"Hard day at work?" Axel asked as soon as the shoes hit the wall and the tie came undone within two steps in the living room. Roxas rubbed between his eyes and slid into a chair across from Axel. A single square bandage was taped to a spot on Axel's forehead—covering his most obstinate injury so far.

"Yeah. Ever since I missed all those work hours—"

"It's really that hard return counter-ing, huh?"

Roxas rolled his eyes and went on to pull his shirt out from his pants. Stupid "tuck in your shirt" rule. "Pretty much...yeah."

Axel sighed pitifully and leaned against the table with his arms crossed. He smirked lazily at Roxas' beat self and couldn't help but laugh. To think that _he_ was looking for a normal job like that. Boy. "Where's the fun in that?"

"Psh. You kidding me? It's a hellhole."

"At least you don't work _late _nights."

Roxas scoffed and held his head with one elbow propped on the table. "Still. Three to nine—"

"No, no, really. I've been workin' late nights since I got outta _school_, Rox. Talk about hellhole. My whole _sleeping pattern _took a shit."

"Yeah. But you _enjoyed_ what you did at each job. Even a little."

"Well, yeah." Axel shrugged and started to get up from his chair. Yeah, his body wasn't hurting so much from the incident anymore, so _that_ meant that he was perfectly capable of getting out there and _doing_ stuff, right? Hm. _Doing_ stuff would be alotta fun. He smiled thinly and placed one hand on his hip and the other on the table while staring down at the exhausted blonde with keen interest.

"It's what I've kinda learned t' do, ya know. Little fun never hurt anyone."

Roxas didn't answer right away. It looked like he was on the verge of passing out with his eyes half closed like that. Hm. He really looked spiffy in an un-tucked business shirt and undone tie. "Boy, have _you_ been locked up in a closet. _Loads_ of people get hurt from fun. Drivers, pedestrians, _teenagers.._."

"You know somethin'?"

Roxas looked up slowly from his lap and peered at Axel through one open eye. The light was stinging his eyes like hell. "Hm."

That's when Axel's smile faded and he crossed over to Roxas' side so he could snag a bit of that business shirt. Old technique. "You...look sorta like one of those..._business_ guys."

"Oh, _really_?"

Axel nodded and tugged at Roxas' collar. "Not the ones you see at the office, though."

Roxas' eyebrows rose and he shot a look at the redhead. "Which?" So, there was a different breed of business guys now?

"You know. The...kind that you see wanderin' the sidewalks after hours—just sorta there, but you don't know why." Still holding onto the blonde's collar with two fingers, Axel leaned in closer as if getting ready for that _tiny_ secret. The one that would blow people's heads off and start a giggle-fest. That sorta secret. "...Then you see 'im cross the street, then into the building with the neon lights and the tinted windows—"

Roxas shivered and tried backing away a couple inches from Axel's suggestive whispering. "Quit that."

"And you know what he does there?" He gave Roxas' collar a tug, another tug, and finally got the look he'd been waiting for—that one with the dreary eyes and the fogged over stare, and the parted lips and the "I'm not sure about this, but I want to" sort of expression. Oh, yeah. It was a good look on Roxas. _In a business outfit_.

Axel leaned in as close as he could get to his little overachiever and tapped their lips together with his eyes shut. This was how he'd ruse a couple of business guys before. "Stuff," he whispered.

"Stuff?" Roxas' voice inclined and he chuckled at the odd choice of word.

"Makes you wanna find th' meaning behind that, right?"

Roxas shook his head and smiled, succeeding in pushing Axel's head away with a heavy hand after. "Hardly."

Re_jection_. Now _that_ was something that Axel hadn't adapted to just yet. Never had he gotten a rejection at work—he was always the one to turn people down if he didn't get their vibe. And then Roxas comes along and totally tilts the table on the game—making everything Axel knew about sex and seduction slip to one side and _stay_ there until Roxas felt like tilting the table the other way. The kid literally _owned _him. And _owning_ was _not_ part of the game.

Axel stubbornly furrowed his brow and blew a sigh upward when Roxas pushed his chair backwards and stumbled away toward his bedroom. Well, technically _their_ bedroom. But Roxas liked to keep little labels on a lot of things. That's his, those're his, that, that and _that_ belong to Roxas.

Tyrant.

On that word, Axel spun around and angrily placed his hands on his hips while drilling holes in the back of Roxas' head. "Who's feelings are we gonna end up hurting with _this_ kinda fun, huh, Rox?"

Roxas stopped before he'd gotten out of the kitchen and looked over his shoulder. "Well, _you_—"

"Ah, shut it," Axel spat, flipping a hand in front of his face. "Don't gimme pity anymore, Rox."

Axel couldn't see it, but Roxas was already smiling subtly toward the floor. Axel was all about the attention recently. He missed kissing, he missed romping and all that stuff in the dark. Roxas figured that a relapse wasn't gonna do him any good. So he liked to play a little game called Hard to Get. "Huh. I thought you _wanted_ pity. Remember? You and your _brother_?"

After hearing that, Axel opened his mouth, but he couldn't exactly figure out how to respond. Right. The...brother thing.

Well, it wasn't gonna be a big deal anymore. In fact, Roxas really thought that every time he'd bring up a little thing like that he'd be able to sneak away like the devil on earth he was. Oh, not now, kiddo. Axel _knew_ about those tricks...

So with arms outstretched and a quick jump in his run, Axel shot out toward the unsuspecting blonde and latched onto his back. Roxas immediately perked up from the little tactic and suddenly felt something weird moving around in front of him. His eyes shot down to his feet where he caught Axel's fingers fooling around with the zipper on his pants. Well, he was _this_ close to swatting them away, but, as usual, Axel had to be three steps ahead.

"C'mere, business boy."

"_Business_ _b_—?" But suddenly Roxas felt himself being tugged at from behind, and with a grunt he was yanked back into the kitchen.

Colors flew—yellow, blue, pink, red—every freakin' scheme in the spectrum popped in his eyes. And no matter what Roxas tried to do, he couldn't stay focused and shake them away. The little bubbles popped and sparked and threw his entire perspective into delirium. A little moment of spinning...and then he was facing Axel's body. But the merry-go-round effect sped right on when Roxas was pulled by the shoulders and engaged in, well, kissing.

He couldn't speak! He couldn't fucking _do_ anything else _but_ make-out because Axel was like freakin' Road Runner. A jackass. A Road Runner jackass hybrid was what Axel was.

Quickly, Axel got to "work" as he called it and forced Roxas to respond with little sounds and moves. Moaning maybe. Tugging also. His hands grabbed at the sides of Roxas' face and pulled him closer. Roxas gasped faintly, but that soon got drowned out by the sound of clattering something rathers ahead of him.

They'd backed into the countertop.

It never took Roxas long to finally get into rhythm and speed with Axel. Why? Because Axel knew that even before he knew the kid, he had enough time to fantasize. Oh, yeah. There were loads of people like Roxas that he'd danced for. But they _always _ended up getting more than what their fantasies drew up. And it was because of this that they grew "curiouser and curiouser", as Alice used to say. Life was essentially a Wonderland of possibilities, and it was Axel's job to unlock the rabbit hole.

Because what would life be without people having a good fucking time every now and again?

Roxas' hands clung onto the edge of the countertop—one on each side of Axel's body. Axel had actually _dragged _him into the kitchen. And here they were. Squirming and clinging—_that_ kind of sex. He'd only thought about it; never experienced it. So Axel began to explain and demonstrate the basics all over again.

_That_ was a groan, _that_ was a hump, _that_ was an arch and _this_ is your penis. Get it? Got it? _Good_.

Roxas began to move his waist and start some friction between the two of them to which Axel ended the kissing and pushed Roxas' head hard against his neck. He obliged and proceeded to grind and kiss with precision and speed. It was difficult to believe that he was pulled into doing this...sigh.

Axel bit his lower lip and with his eyes shut he brought a hand to the back of Roxas' head and rolled his own to the side. A devious smile formed on his lips when he felt something surge right down his spine and into his stomach. His other hand quietly squeezed in between their bodies where it began to mess around with the blonde's shirt buttons.

"See?" Axel panted. "Fun, right?"

Roxas backed away to finish undoing the buttons for him and rolled his eyes. "You're an absolute _idiot_, you know that?"

Axel's smile shrunk a bit and with narrowed eyes he leaned forward and draped both arms over Roxas' shoulders. This boy was certainly _clueless_. Roxas stared at him crossed eyed, shirtless and bewildered before Axel replied with:

"Hm. Tell me. Would an..._idiot_ save you from that little beer buzz of yours?"

Roxas blinked and felt the color begin to rise in his cheeks. Oh, shit. "You...knew," he said, lowering his head. Axel nodded. "Kind of a cruel way to..._save_ me."

"Call it returning the favor. I'm an expert at bein' cruel. I'm _also _an expert at trackin' alcohol in your system. And _you_—outta _everyone _in this freakin' _town_—know why."

The blonde, panting wildly, raised an eyebrow. Axel began to chuckle.

"Just your average, _experienced_, little-slut." On each word spoken, Axel's head inched closer and closer toward Roxas—his poor, drunken, business boy Roxas. If he even _was_ a business boy. On that thought, Axel drove Roxas further into submission by walking and backing him back toward the bedroom door. Here was a boy that called mommy and brother nearly every other day...

Obedient son and brother by day...

"You're not return counter-ing..._are _you?"

"...Bartender."

With one hand on the doorknob to Roxas' left, Axel honestly felt himself shudder hearing that familiar word. Fan_tastic_. "Hmhm. I like that."

Bartender by night.

"I don't take pride in it," Roxas whispered. "And if it helps at all—three. I had three drinks."

"So my little Roxas knows how t' open up. Honestly didn't think you could."

"Goody. Does your _little Roxas_ win something?"

"Nah. You should just be proud of yourself."

"For the drinking?"

Axel started to laugh lightly and as he did he turned the doorknob and pushed the door open a crack. "No. For provin' me wrong."

With his shirt pried off and the bed waiting eagerly in the darkness behind him, Roxas swallowed, shut his eyes, and led Axel in.

* * *

(_Your_ Epilogue Here)

* * *

**BUT WAIT, THERE'S ****_STILL_**** MORE!**

**you see that little "title" i have there? well, take it seriously, folks. that's right. you can't honestly tell me that we can leave this story drained of axel and roxas behind the scenes footage, can you? come on, now, don't twiddle your fingers like that!**

**_let's put that crafty brain to work._**

**and i'm addressing ****_all _****of you.**

**i need an epilogue! and, for the first time, i want ****_you guys_**** to give me your best ideas. in a review, of course. let's not be shy, now, mkay? i shan't be ****_biased_**** and toss your ideas to the side. tell me what you want, and i promise to take it all and make the best damn something rather ending you want! i'll put credit were credit is due. (a little ****_smut_**** never hurt, hm?)**

**all you need to do is tell me what ****_you_**** want to happen to axel and roxas. simple, no? i will be the slave, and ****_you_**** will be the master. (NOT in that context, silly)**

**what ****_kind_**** of ending? the floor is OPEN. smut? i'll give you smut. and how would that smut "play out"? so-and-so wears a dress and sings a song? sure, why not? explicit? angsty? death? death ****_defying_****? maybe we could wrangle up some random characters to stop by for a visit. i'm sure axel and roxas won't mind ****_that_****, ey?**

* * *

**i think i've played annoying television salesperson enough, haven't i? OX seriously, ****_what have i gotten myself into? _****anyway, that's that. please give some feedback! i think my fingers are going to need some therapy now. so for starters, i think they'd like seeing your reviews. trust me--my fingers KNOW these things. xD**

**and no matter how inaccurate some events may have seemed, believe me--some were inspired by real-life events i have heard of. while i may not have been there, i tried my best to give it ****_some_**** sense of justice in perspective. now i, from the bottom of my heart, say thank you for putting up with this MONSTER--and i love you all to death. immensely.**

**and, to answer PerpetualNight's question about roxas being a bartender:**

**_depending on the law in a state, a person can be a bartender if they are 17-21+ years of age. this is based on the US law, of course. in some states, you would need to be 18 to serve a closed bottle of alcohol--such as beer--and 21 to mix drinks. it's a complicated system._**

**_car...pal...tunnel,  
kokoro77_**


	6. Birthday Boy

**Author's...N-N-Note: _holycrapimsosorryi'vebeengoneohcanyouforgivemeforbeingsuchaputzandleavingyououtinthesunrianandtormentwaiting..._**

**D: let's just say that i'm ashamed in myself. i have no other liable excuse other than these (and...they're still pretty lame-tastic):**

**1) driving school  
2) ah, _writer's block_**

**yes, i have to say that, like any human being, i get writer's block every now and again. and this was no ordinary case of writer's block, mind you. oh, no. this one lasted for approximately, oh, say, A FREAKIN' MONTH? at least a tad more than that, wouldn't you say? dammit, it was HARD. xO now, i had the epilogue thought out and such, but i just couldn't find a good way to, uhm, write it in the proper way.**

**so, because i suffered through such a long and tormenting process, by the time i actually had the gumption to WRITE a darn thing, i just couldn't STOP. which is EXACTLY WHY my epilogue will be staggered into three separate chapters. call it lame if you will, but that's the way it shall be done. (PEACE)  
**

**anyway, it feels good to be back to good 'ol FF. -deep breath- mm. all the usual abnormalities still haven't been fixed. HAI GAIZ!!  
**

**HAPPY BELATED AKUROKU DAYYYY. (bet YOU had fun, right? _yeah._)**

* * *

-Epilogue I: Sugar and Envy-

* * *

Club Envy. So it was called. Named so for its deceptive color—a white cream by daytime, a venomous spike of green by night. A way to depict the ever-changing personalities of human beings when touched by a hint of darkness.

The lighting fixtures would creep along the corners of the building—green, pink, yellow—all the colors that beckoned high class sinners and animals for play. It was at three every afternoon that Envy would fling open its doors for the public—the very one that had been waiting countless _months_ for a little elbow room, room to breathe and room to fly high to their hearts' content. Ever since old Sugar left the scene, it was up to Envy to return Destati to its original state of partying and inebriation. Why?

Well, life was meant to be a joyride.

Now, Roxas never, not once, took pride in working at Club Envy. After all, one Roxas added to a night club of any kind was a sketchy combination. He hated the lighting. He hated the name. He hated the thick smell of alcohol and cheap perfume while he worked non-stop behind a glass counter illuminated with, mhm—_green lights_.

The frickin' _boss man_ was a prick! Couldn't stay in one place at one time. Always runnin' around—in doors out of doors...Never could stay to answer a question or know if Roxas even _existed _half the time_._

Bartending. Pft. What a _gyp!_

Ah, but the _money_. Well, 28 bucks an hour would manage to keep at least _Axel_ satisfied. Roxas had lived with him long enough to know about all his little _needs_. Twinkies for one. G-strings...for another. Sad.

And even sadder was that Axel wouldn't let Roxas leave the damn club. Why?

Well, because he...rather _liked_ Roxas as a bartender. Kept him alert; on his toes. And best of all, it kept him smelling like sweet, sweet Bacardi and rum when he'd get home. Maybe if he was _lucky_ he'd get a little whiff of vodka, even apple martinis. Nah. His boss didn't care that Roxas was under the age limit to serve mixed drinks. So long as the kid worked hard, his boss tossed the age out the window.

Hm. Somehow, Axel had a feeling that age-dropping ran in the clubbing industry.

Axel could hear the blaring music from inside the narrow club as he stood—leaned up against someone's truck—waiting and waiting...just waiting. Boy, every time that music would play, it just managed to seep into his chest and make his heart beat ten times faster. His lips would curve into a playful smirk and his legs would sometimes twitch—begging to be put to good use. But instead, Axel held his position with ankles and arms crossed and his head turned toward his feet.

If _Roxas_ caught him going off like that, gee, he just didn't know.

He scoffed and while he really _did_ try to ignore the club—_and _the music..._and _the lights..._and_ the laughter—his eyes drifted...drifted further and further until he could see the building positively _drenched_ in emerald light. He and green went _so_ well together.

He hated to admit it, but ever since he'd been with Roxas, there were the best of times, there were the worst of times and by the worst of times he meant _hell_. No, there weren't large arguments, and most of the ones that came up went virtually unnoticed—barely any conversation. All Roxas had to do was ignore Axel's seduction...and that would be it.

Like being on a _leash_.

Sometimes he wondered why he bothered to stick by the kid for so long...

With that thought, he sighed heavily, pulled out his cell and began to tap his foot on the pavement.

"Come _on_, Rox. You said you'd get off at seven!" Irritably, the redhead rolled his neck. Ok, if Roxas wanted to _wean_ Axel away from clubs, dancing and yadda-yadda, _why_ was he here to meet up if Roxas freakin' _knew _that he would look at the building anyway? Axel honestly thought about kicking down the damn glass door and mingling in the crowd he belonged in since _birth_.

Man...

And as if on command, the heavens opened up and out came a familiar blondie wearing his black tie lopsided and his shirt barely tucked in properly. Something resembling a scowl was drawn on his face. Well, that wasn't all too angelic, but it was Roxas, so Axel had to be grateful for _something_.

He pushed away from the truck and faced the staggering blonde with his arms flung out to the side. "What happened to ya, Rox?" he asked loudly. "You told me seven! It's seven _thirty—hello!?_"

Roxas paused from rubbing his head and tried his best to focus his attention on his boyfriend's face in the dark. Yeah, it was him alright. Sure, he was happy to see Axel considering that he only got to see him five days a week and a maximum of five hours each day, but in this setting—club behind him and music pounding down the street—it was an en_tirely_ different story. He shook his head and straightened up to reply, grabbing the redhead's arm afterward as they ventured into the parking lot.

"Sorry. Took me a while to convince the other guy to cover for me."

Axel scoffed and rolled his eyes while Roxas dragged him further away from the illuminated club. "Honestly. _30 minutes?_"

"Got my stuff, signed out, cleaned up my station _and_ swam through a crowd of 100 plus customers who were complaining and gossiping about the _cute bartender_ taking a hike. Pft. Come _on_, cut me some slack!" Roxas pulled Axel off to the side of the curb where the club could be seen shining in all its spectacular grandeur across the street. When he didn't let go of Axel's hand, he felt Axel's fingers travel lower so that he could intertwine their fingers.

Roxas quickly looked down at their hands while all Axel did was watch the chameleon of a building with sparkling eyes. Hm. It wasn't Sugar, but Envy was just as good. At least...it _sounded_ just as good, seeing as he never went _inside_ the damn joint.

"Let's get out of here," Roxas muttered, taking a step onto the sidewalk in hopes that Axel would follow. "We'll be late." But even as he tugged, Axel wouldn't budge. Ugh. Roxas took his turn to roll his eyes and with his other hand he smeared a hand down his face.

"Axel, _please_ don't get your hopes up."

"Oh?" With that said, Axel finally turned around and fell into step with Roxas at his right. He remained on the street while Roxas walked up on the curb. "I was simply admiring your workplace, Roxas. Don't be touchy."

"Hm." Not much more could be said after that. Roxas didn't particularly like playing verbal ping-pong with Axel—it wouldn't get them anywhere fast or slow. So he kept silent while the two of them walked at a gradually quickening pace in the dark blue night.

It'd been a month since Axel had magically uncovered Roxas' secret of being a bartender by night. He should've known better than to take up a job that Axel was incredibly familiar with. He knew the look; he knew the smell, so the "business guy" charade didn't exactly fly. Thinking back on it, he smiled at his feet.

"Hey, Roxas."

"Hm?" Roxas glanced to his left where Axel had tilted his head to stare right at him.

"Happy birthday."

He felt Axel's fingers squeeze his and his face flushed. "Yeah, yeah."

* * *

Besame Mucho

* * *

Axel, surprisingly, was unaware of the correct way to put into action the element of surprise. The correct way would be to act casual, go about a day without hinting, and zip it, lock it and throw away the key. _Axel's_ method on the other hand involved winking, giggling and pretty much leaving a trail of breadcrumbs for one to follow to the end. _That_ was how Roxas had discovered that the two of them were going out for dinner tonight.

Not that he wanted to complain or anything. Roxas loved Italian food too much to complain.

The two of them made another turn around a corner and spotted the little red restaurant sitting nestled between an insurance building and a coffee shop or something rather. Hm. After months of eating at home, at fast food joints or nowhere at all, Roxas thought it was the most beautiful sight for miles. Now there were no cars on the street and both of them kept still on the side—waiting for no reason in particular.

Roxas began to kick loose pieces of concrete from cracks in the sidewalk while staring at his feet, still holding Axel's hand all the while. The redhead noticed Roxas' behavior and lowered his head to ask about it.

"Hey, what's up?"

Roxas' shoulders sagged a bit. Alright, so would it be a _bad_ thing if he brought up the subject on a happy night like this? He knew all about birthdays...and they just never came cheap.

With a sigh, Roxas looked up at the restaurant again before replying, "Can we afford it?" Immediately, Axel started to chuckle and Roxas felt his cheeks heat up. So maybe it _was_ a touchy subject.

"Quit worryin', will ya? Ease up, Roxas! It's your birthday; money shouldn't be somethin' t' worry about."

"Yeah, but—"

"Alright, alright, how 'bout this?" Axel sighed, shoving a hand into his pocket afterward. "If it makes ya feel any better, you an' me take out our money an' make sure we've got enough."

Roxas looked both ways on the street. "In _public?_"

"Pft. No. In my pants at the corner of fifth in the back alley. Where else?"

"Axel..."

"Hey, for the sake of feelin' _better_—"

"That's stupid," Roxas intervened. "Someone's gonna notice. There're loads of bad people around town..."

"You're too paranoid, Rox." Axel shook his head. "...Fine. _You_ check, _I'll_ cover and then we'll _switch._ Sound better?"

Well, actually, it _sorta_ did, and Roxas really didn't feel like giving up _pasta_ on his birthday. It'd been a while since that happened. So, cautiously, he released Axel's hand for a minute so he could reach into his pocket to find his wallet. Yes, he _finally_ bought one after Axel wouldn't stop pestering him about looking like a hobo for bundling bills up with rubber bands. He couldn't help it. It was easier that way.

But part of being in a relationship included conceding to the other's requests and adapting to certain ways of life that weren't there to begin with. For the _sake_ of keeping Axel, Roxas bought himself a wallet—a small, black leather one with never more than 40 bucks in it at one time. Well, depending on the tips he got most nights, it _might_ have 60...or 80. But those had to be _really_ good nights.

With all his thoughts of money and wallets spinning around in his head, Roxas didn't have the time to realize that his fingers had met with nothing but air and pocket lint in his pants. He blinked steadily and once he looked down at his pocket, his eyes dilated in a fluster.

"Wh-what?" he stuttered, patting both pockets down. "I had it! Right—uhm..."

Axel raised an eyebrow down at his, once again, frantic boyfriend and slapped a firm hand down on his right shoulder to get him to calm down. "Hey, hey, whoa, whoa, _whoa. _What's up with Roxas now?" When Roxas failed to answer right away, Axel sighed, rolled his eyes and gave him a quick shove with his elbow. With that, Roxas went stumbling to the left—still ruffled up about _something._

"I-it was—I _had_ it."

"Yeah, yeah. I got _that_ much, buddy." With his arms crossed, Axel walked over to where he'd sent Roxas stumbling across the sidewalk where he could look around frantically and mumble shit to himself. He sighed and with a quick hand, managed to grab a hold of Roxas' right forearm. "Ah. Take it you left your wallet, did you?"

Roxas didn't want to answer that truthfully, but there wasn't a way to bend the truth about misplacing a _wallet. _So instead, he pursed his lips and looked off to the side to avoid Axel's stare when he nodded. Of course Axel wouldn't be _mad_ at him—he rarely was. Even when money was involved, Axel usually didn't give a damn. So what was the point of acting so repentant? Show, he guessed.

But even though Axel never reacted negatively, Roxas always felt _bad_—bad for it ever happening in the first place and bad for Axel not, well, taking _some_ action. It was just awkward to have "Ah, that's alright" as the response all the time. It'd be nice for a _little_ disapproval.

The look on Roxas' face made Axel's smile widen, just as the blonde expected it to. He stared at his face for a short while before Axel's grip tightened on his forearm and he felt himself being dragged _away_ from the restaurant. Once again, his eyes dilated. Oh, he had to stop _doing_ that.

"Come on, we're gonna go get it."

Roxas stuck his feet out which caused his heels to drag on the cement. "H-hang on, please? God, give me a sec to remember where I left it!"

Axel glanced over his shoulder with a scoff. "Isn't it obvious? Ya left it at th' club, right? Only place it'd be."

"Quit skipping to conclusions like that. It could've dropped on the street on the way over here."

Axel shook his head as he began to turn the corner. "Hm. That's what _you_ think. You're a _bartender_, Roxas."

"Yeah, so?"

"So? _Tips._ Havin' t' take your wallet outta your pocket every time a buck comes your way gets t' be a hassle. 'Specially in a crowed joint like Envy. Leavin' it somewhere _reachable _and well _hidden _on th' other hand makes for a better system."

Roxas' stunned silence made Axel sigh dismissively. His shoulders went slack and as they walked, he began to find it a _bit_ sad that he knew these things better than Roxas—a freakin' _bartender_ now. All he'd been was a dancer, but he'd been a _sneaky enough_ _dancer_ to be able to squeeze behind the scenes and observe the lifestyle of the other club workers. Nothing to be all _too_ proud of.

Possibly.

Roxas bit his lower lip and for the rest of the walk back the way they came, his eyes stayed fixated on the ground. Not only because he wanted to scan for his wallet, but because he just...didn't feel so good. It was his _birthday_. "Big 2-0" as Sora and he liked to call it. He _missed _Sora's birthday call because of work. And now Axel's little surprise had to backfire. Judging by the pitch black streets and the flickering streetlights overhead, Roxas guessed that it was _way_ past their reservation time.

"...Cheer up, birthday boy."

"Yeah, yeah." Hm. If this wasn't a surprise in itself, Roxas didn't know _what_ was.

* * *

Apple

* * *

8:17.

Mm. There was absolutely no doubt in Roxas' mind that the two of them were screwed for the night. Their table at the restaurant was probably given away already. By the time he'd checked the time in his cell for the umpteenth time that night, Roxas' hope sank...and sank...and sank more still. As if that wasn't enough, he was going back to _work._ It wasn't so much the people that Roxas hated, but the building itself. Because of all that—that luring _music_, _alcohol_ and _strobes_, people were attracted like moths to a flame, and thus the stupidity would flourish.

_That_ was what Roxas hated. Stupidity. Clubs were nothing but dirty locations meant to transform people for the worse in a single night. Sometimes Roxas wished that Axel would be able to grab hold of that concept and understand his intensions for _saving him!_

Right as he thought it, a familiar green light came into view up ahead and Roxas simply stood there with his feet planted on the ground—his free hand in a fist and the other being cut off of blood circulation by Axel. That...didn't feel right.

Steadily, Roxas' eyes ventured up to the left where Axel was and, sure enough, the redhead was positively _gaping_.Sigh. He rolled his eyes and took a step into the empty street. Regret, regret...

"This was _your_ idea. Now _move_, hm?"

"Alright, alright. Geez." However, just because Roxas had _hinted _his disapproval, Axel continued his rapt viewing moment as the two of them crossed the street and strolled across the parking lot. He knew that the number of cars had increased since they'd left, _which meant_ that so had the crowd. Axel shivered as his insides began to bubble uncontrollably. They'd just made it to the edge of the curb when Roxas suddenly stopped, forcing Axel to a surprised halt a mere two steps away from the tinted doors.

"We can't...go that way," Roxas muttered, giving Axel's hand a tug. He dragged him off to the side of the building where they remained hidden under the shadows of a rather short and inconspicuous apple tree—placed there just to, well, as the boss described it: "lure in all of Destati's Adams and Eves." A stupid concept, but what could Roxas do?

He was just a_ bartender._

Before responding, Axel's eyes gazed over the walls and corners of the club that had once been out of sight. Even _with_ the dumpster and the lack of lite brites, his senses remained unstable. No, he _wasn't_ unaware of the goosebumps trailing down his spine and up his legs. Nah. It was all _too good_ a feeling for it to be ignored. And so, he let his body go through its beginning stage while he turned to Roxas with a smile that would hopefully shield his excitement.

For now at least.

"Somethin' wrong with the...front entrance?" he asked, tilting his head and giving Roxas' hand a supportive squeeze. Roxas nibbled his lower lip again. It was becoming puffy and rosy from all the nibbling today. Of _course_ Axel noticed. _Those_ were technically _his._

"Just—boss might catch me."

Axel raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"I told you I asked the other bartender to cover, right? But the _boss_ doesn't know I'm off shift, get it?"

"And you couldn't tell 'im be_cause...?_"

Roxas made a growling sound in the back of his throat as if in frustration. "H-he—the guy's a fucking..._psychopath!_ He wanders around this place like some kinda hawk! He catches a single hair outta place, he'll kick you out the door in two seconds flat. _Guar_antee it. Yeah, he's got his days where he doesn't know most of his employees are _alive_, but tonight I'm pretty sure he's watching. Do I really gotta say how _anal_ this guy is when it comes to working hours? Won't let you go even a _second_ before shift ends."

"So what makes you think he hasn't _caught_ you yet if he's so anal an'..._hawkish?_" Axel lowered his head until he was close to tapping their noses together. Roxas backed away with a groan.

"It's not funny. I can get, you know..._fired _for this? If we go that way, we might run into him surveying the place." Nervously, Roxas brought a hand to his lopsided tie and began to fondle with it—shifting it to one side of his collar then to the other in thought. Axel could tell _very_ easily that Roxas was heating up—his face was tinting pink and his bangs were starting to stick to his sweaty forehead. Hm.

While Roxas stared blankly at his feet, Axel began to stare around at the side of the club, not for more sightseeing, but because he knew for a _fact_ that where there was a front entrance, there would always be a back. Sadly, from where they were standing, it was too dark to see the details in the walls. Slowly, Axel began to release Roxas' fingers before taking soft steps further into the darkness. Roxas immediately looked up and extended a hand to try and stop him.

"Where—where the hell are you going?" he hissed, glancing over his shoulder once. When he didn't receive a response, Roxas hesitantly followed. "Axel..." He spotted the redhead finally by the time he reached what appeared to be the other side of the building. Strangely, Roxas didn't know the place, and already he hated it.

Axel began to chuckle to himself. "Hm. Found you."

"Found who?"

With one hand, Axel patted the wall and scanned its surface. With a closer look and a couple more steps, Roxas was able to see a door under a flickering, dull and incandescent light. Nothing was particularly _special_ about the door other than that he'd never seen it before. Axel, on the other hand, thought otherwise. Roxas watched as his boyfriend stood before the door and slid the tips of his fingers slowly and avidly on the handle. He shivered and held his arms to give them a rub.

"Well?" he asked impatiently. "It's getting cold out here, you know."

"...Does Envy have, ya know, _additions?_" Axel asked, tapping the door once with the back of his finger without turning toward Roxas. The blonde simply eyed the back of Axel's head questionably.

"Wait, what?"

That's when Roxas heard a low laugh and his eyes narrowed in concern. He didn't bother to ask for fear of that laugh getting louder and giving away their cover. Instead, he watched while Axel stripped himself of the black trench coat he'd been wearing and proceeded to drape it over the stair railing. Roxas was becoming _very_ dizzy all of a sudden. He figured the drastic change in temperature was taking a toll on his body.

"Sugar had one of these doors. Most clubs do now-a-days. Jus' t' keep the dancers' privacy when they wanna go inside."

Roxas scoffed and slapped a hand on his forehead. "Axel, there're no—th-this is just a—"

"You _really_ wonder 'bout that boss-a yours?" Carefully, Axel's fingers curled around the handle and with one soft push, the door opened. Roxas felt warm, moist air waft past him and when it did he was struck dumb by the very subtle, very _pink_ lighting that followed. He glanced up at Axel only to receive a wink, a devious smile, and a nudge toward the pink room.

"Struck a chord, did I?"

* * *

**(don't you hate it when your computer overheats or something? especially a laptop? you know what i mean? like the bottom side of it is burning up and you can't do anything about it other than turn it off but you still have something important to do so you just leave it be and it ends up giving your lap a suntan? know what i mean?)**

**D: i'm sure you do.**

BUT! i'm sure we've all got better things to do other than worry about spontaneously combusting laptops. so, now i must say that it's been a bumpy ride so far this summer. my creative juices have been running AROUND. THE CLOCK. NO BS. seriously, i've been writing, drawing, creating AMV's and such and the worst part is that i have YET to get much done! on top of all that, summer is coming to a close in, what, a week or so? yeah. that's just brilliant. around this time two years ago, my insane child brain could whip (haha. whip.) out three freakin' chapters in a night!

**IN A NIGHT.  
**

**do you--do you know how _depressing_ that is? hm. i suppose there's not much to do about that. -teartearsobsoballthatsortofthing- well, as i said before, this epilogue is being separated into three chapters. Epilogue I, Epilogue II, and lastly Epilogue III (unless i totally have a spazz moment and decide to pop out an Epilogue IV. ...NO.) i'm starting to wonder about axel now. hm. strange lad, isn't he? (the word LAD makes me envision him in a kilt, or something...)**

nah. well, epilogue II is complete, but i shan't post 'er until, i dunno...what do i usually ask for, you tell me. xD and, no, it isn't a fruit. (coughcough_review_) did i hear the wind just now? oh. here we are:

here are the TOP SUGGESTIONS for the epilogue(s) that i've gotten so far, in no particular order:

**1) smut in which roxas tops  
2) someone walking in on axel and roxas having sex  
3) axel getting a decent job  
4) roxas and axel owning some sort of club/restaurant hybrid  
5) a happy ending**

_**you'll find out soon enough,  
kokoro77 xO**_


	7. SHUT! UP! AXEL!

**Author's Note: as promised. ;) here be epilogue II, and expected to follow right at its heels is the final epilogue III. i have a strange fascination with epilogues, do i not? xO**

**see, now, there was only supposed to be ONE epilogue, but because i felt there were too many things left open for the imagination, i decided to go ahead and, well, make more. so keep your imaginations bottled up, ey? besides, if i did this all in one go, it would basically be a 20 page oneshot in itself. NOT TOO BRIGHT. xO**

**so! you ready for some more!? BRING IT. and for GOD'S SAKE, AXEL. SHUT UP. (what ever for, i wonder?)**

* * *

-Epilogue II: SHUT! UP! AXEL!-

* * *

It _shouldn't_ have come as any _bit_ of surprise to Roxas that Axel would know his _own work space_ better than himself. Sometimes it made him feel stupid, other times more apathetic. He tried to keep his reaction to a minimum upon setting foot into the unfamiliar surroundings, or as Axel called it: "addition" to the club.

Yes, there was the familiar scent of alcohol and smoke lingering about, but this particular section seemed to be lacking the intensity _just _a tad. Shifting his eyes left and right, Roxas kept his hands gripping onto his arms while he followed a good two steps away from Axel who was, once again, busy surveying the pink lighting cast upon the black walls.

It was a small room—possibly big enough for ten or so. Perhaps it wasn't even a _room_, but more of a short hallway. On both sides of the hallway were doors, five on each side spaced fairly far apart from the other. Each one was labeled clearly above the frame with a number and four of the ten—1, 3, 4 and 10—were illuminated with a pale green light. Roxas hesitantly laid his palm on the wall beside door number 10 to his right and quickly retracted when he felt strange vibrations on the other side.

He blinked and turned his attention to the front. "Let's get outta here, Axel," he muttered while glimpsing at the door again. Seeing the number 10 lit up with green like that made a stinging feeling erupt in the pit of his stomach and he coiled his fingers thinking about the others.

But Axel didn't respond...not right away, at least. With his head tilted a bit to the right, Axel narrowed his eyes and allowed them to move at will—to look wherever they anticipated would trigger the best feeling under his skin. But it was _all_ so..._perfect_. The redhead was highly unaware that he was starting to hyperventilate like a maniac, like an addict, like a—like a—

"Axel."

Hearing Roxas' voice caused Axel's heart to skip a beat. To his eyes, Roxas was something new to this environment—something hastily placed in the corner in hopes that it would change the entire room overall. He was used to the fast lane, the bright lights, the neon, the reflective floors and the feeling of smoke twisting around his body.

And along comes _Roxas_...

For a while, Axel eyed his boyfriend as if he forgot who he was to begin with. His lips were parted and his eyes relaxed as if he would collapse any second. Roxas inched closer toward him in concern.

"I...wanna get out of here. Look," he said, extending a finger out toward the end of the hallway a few steps away, "I think if we go right we can get to the stairs. That'll take us to the lockers on the second floor. I'm...pretty sure that's where I left it."

The hallway wasn't terribly narrow, but Roxas was starting to act like it was from what Axel could see in his behavior. The blonde began to fidget with his hair and clothes while he made an attempt to pass Axel to get to the stairs. While his face remained as relaxed as it had been admiring his discovery, Axel stared ahead, allowed Roxas to brush past him and quietly asked:

"It ain't easy, is it, Rox?"

"What?"

Axel lowered his head with a sigh and his lips formed into a thin smile. "Lookin' out for me, right?"

Honestly, Axel really _did_ feel bad for Roxas. And honestly, he really felt bad that Roxas had to carry so much responsibility. It was the kid's birthday and both of them had to live with the fact that _Roxas _was the bacon bringer in their relationship. _Roxas _was the one with the decent apartment. _Roxas _was the one who had the decency to perform a reality check.

The days the two of them could see each other were usually filled with stories about stress and all that jazz. So...maybe he felt a _bit_ bad that he wasn't letting Roxas leave Envy. Just because of his selfish needs, Roxas had to remain in a job he hated.

Roxas cleared his throat and shook his head after glancing briefly over his shoulder. "What're you talking about?"

"Don't go hidin' with this one, Roxas, alright?" Axel spun around to face Roxas' back. "I'm pissin' you off."

"You're not pi—"

"...and I'm not—"

"But I just _told_ you—"

"Roxas, I—"

"Axel, you're—"

"_Lookit me_, ok? Lemme talk and fucking _look _at me, please."

Here it goes, Roxas thought. This was going to be the argument of all arguments for them. Why? Well, Axel had finally brought in the big guns: the swearing and the demands. Hesitantly and with confused eyes, Roxas turned halfway and locked his and Axel's eyes together. Immediately, Axel took a step toward him and continued without bothering to wait for more of a response from Roxas.

"See, the reason _why_ I _know_ that I piss you off even in the _slightest_ is 'cause of all this, I dunno..._disregarding_ crap! You think ignoring is really gonna help me?"

"I just don't—mm..." Roxas paused and rubbed the back of his neck in thought.

Axel smiled almost maniacally. "Ah, see that? You're just in denial is all! Am I gettin' in th' ball park here?"

Roxas didn't respond.

"Rox," the redhead sighed and took two more steps to break the large gap between the two of them, "ok, I appreciate what you're tryin' t' do for me, really. And I've _tried_ to turn around and...I guess _fix_ myself like you want."

"I don't—"

"Ah, ah," Axel interrupted, causing Roxas to stare cross eyed at his raised finger. "Listen..." With yet another heavy exhale, Axel took his hand and softly propped it atop his boyfriend's head. From there he spread his fingers and allowed them to gently play with the little tufts of dirty blonde hair—tugging, coiling...

"I don't wanna lose you...but at the same time I can't afford tossin' my_self_ away, understand?" He lowered his head to Roxas' height to get a better look at those baby blues. "Yeah, I _get_ that my behavior isn't the cleanest out there, and I'm definitely not the guy you imagined you'd be with years back, right? Dancer, gigolo, playboy—this list botherin' you yet?"

It took him a second, but Roxas eventually shook his head toward his feet. Feeling Axel's fingers tangled up in his hair was comforting, yeah, but at the same time it just wasn't enough to fix the stupid guilt. Now that Axel had pinpointed everything about himself that Roxas _hated_, he just didn't know what to _say_. A sorry wouldn't be enough. Nothing seemed to be enough.

"Thing is, Rox, it's...who I am. I'm always gonna be erratic and on the unstable side, and you should know that. No sense in shyin' 'way from clubs like this or tryin' t' keep me in the house before dark, y'know?" Axel chuckled to himself and used both hands to cup both sides of Roxas' head. Roxas slowly looked up with tired eyes and, to both his and Axel's surprise, smiled. A weak smile, but a smile nonetheless.

"_That's_ it," the redhead whispered in approval. "Ah, Rox. Total opposites, us guys." He steadily brushed one thumb against Roxas' cheek. Damn, he _adored_ this kid. To _death_. It didn't occur to him at once just what it was about Roxas that was so appealing. A little something to give his life balance—that's what he was. Yin for Yang, the whole shebang.

Well, Axel _did_ manage to snag a kiss after that. But given the circumstances, he couldn't extend the time it lasted. Still holding Roxas' head in his hands, Axel looked ahead down the hallway and rolled his eyes.

"C'mon. Let's get outta here, huh? Besides...I've got your—"

"H-hold on...You hear that?"

"Hear what now?"

Roxas backed his head away from Axel for a second upon hearing muffled voices growing closer to where they were standing. He clenched his teeth together and turned back toward the way they came in panic. Judging by Axel's widened eyes, he got the message loud and clear. Well, why wasn't he _moving _then?

"That voice sounds awful familiar, Rox."

"Let's go, come on!" Roxas hissed, pushing at Axel's side roughly only to get...nowhere.

Axel looked around the room—this way that way, up and down until finally he spotted a door _right_ in front of his face. Ah. How conveniently placed. So with little effort, Axel reached for the knob, turned it and nudged his head toward the waiting room inside.

"Go!"

"But the exit—"

"T' hell with it!" Axel replied through clenched teeth while stomping his foot once. Since he'd raised his voice, Roxas jumped and instantly bolted into the dark room. God, he hoped that Axel knew what the hell he was doing. Then again, it might have been stupid to try and hope for that sort of thing. So Roxas just held his breath as he moved as far to the back of the room as possible, hoping that he'd at least be able to break the person's line of vision.

No sooner had Roxas tapped the wall did Axel slam the door shut. Great, Roxas thought, rolling his eyes. _That_ was inconspicuous. He shut his eyes and literally threw himself upon a wrap-around couch with one arm laid across his forehead. What a day...

"My boss..." he grumbled towards the ceiling. Axel pried his ear away from the door and looked over his shoulder at Roxas lying on the couch.

"That 'im?"

Roxas nodded solemnly and began to smear his other hand down his face. At least there were no bright lights in this room—just one red lamp sitting on a coffee table in the middle. The walls were black, the couch was black. Huh. Something didn't feel right.

"Keep it down. If he catches me in here he'll cut me loose like _that_." Roxas snapped his fingers once. But all this talk about his frightening boss didn't seem to be getting to Axel very much. No, he just stood there letting the words slip right past him like a breeze. The blonde slightly lifted his head from the couch to look at Axel to the best of his ability in the poorly lit black room.

"Axel?"

"Hmhm..."

Roxas lifted his head even more and furrowed his eyebrows suspiciously. "Hey."

Suddenly, against what Roxas ordered, Axel leaned forward, held his elbows and began to laugh..._profusely_. Ah, _dammit!_ Instantly, Roxas threw his feet back on the floor and held his hands out in front of him.

"Shut _up!_ _Axel! Shh!_"

But still the redhead persisted and it even came to the point where he was gasping for air—barely uttering Roxas' _name_. If his boss heard _that_—

"Ah, R-Ro—ahaha! _Shit!_ Aha! Y-you should've—you—"

"You're being stupid!" Roxas whispered and stood from the couch with his hands clenched. He wondered if there would ever be a time where they would have a non-bipolar relationship. Maybe this was the perfect time to answer that question. So without another second of hesitation, Roxas strode across the small room and once he was close enough, raised his hand and slapped it firmly over his boyfriend's lips. This immediately caused Axel to not only silence, but his eyes to flash as he was backed into the wall by Roxas' new death grip.

Once again Roxas brought a finger to his lips and remained holding Axel in one place while waiting for his boss' voice to start up again. Sure enough, after one arduous minute passed, he could hear voices return towards the end of the hallway. He shook his head in disappointment and shot his eyes directly into Axel's, which were still unblinking and quivering in place.

"Ok. Yeah, _now_ you're pissin' me off," he hissed, pressing harder with his hand to which Axel twitched.

He tried to speak, really, but, god, where in the _hell_ did Roxas get this fucking arm strength from? So it was sexy to some degree, but still, ouch. No really. _Ouch_. Axel began to shake his head to try to free his lips and Roxas finally released him with a staggered groan. Both of them fell limp where they stood. That is, until Axel decided he wanted to _test_ that new part of Roxas—the side that was suddenly trained in self defense and yadda-yadda.

With the blonde caught off guard, Axel literally swooped down so that his head was level with Roxas' stomach. And in one swift maneuver he collided with the blonde, wrapped his arms around his thin waist and lifted him up once he had him slammed against the opposite wall. Roxas nearly lost his breath and in near shock he gripped onto Axel's shoulders thinking that he would lose his balance.

"A-ah!" Roxas gritted out in pain.

One might've called Axel a sadist to be smirking at his boyfriend's reaction. But, no, it wasn't that he felt good about _harming_ Roxas, it was just that he rather liked it when he..._surprised him_. Hm. And Roxas said he was horrible at it. Well, then...

"Let's see now..."

"A-Axel. Quit..._it!_" Roxas tightly shut his eyes until he could feel tears forcing their way through the corners. His jaw dropped upon feeling fingers inching up the back of his shirt and nails clawing at his skin. He held his breath, hoping that it would be enough to keep his voice from rising any higher, though it wasn't helping so much.

Ah, this was where the fun was at. Let's step out of the box for a minute here. _That's_ right. There was a very good reason why he wanted to make Roxas scream. Actually, more reasons than one. For now, he had to concentrate on giving birthday boy here something to...remember this place by.

With a hand gently lifting the back of Roxas' shirt up, Axel dipped his head and began to lick the bit of skin showing on Roxas' right hip. Roxas squirmed violently and began to pant. Hm, that was alright, he guessed. But a little more noise would be nice. So Axel ventured higher and higher still until he could feel a faint heartbeat on his lips. Axel began to drag his tongue along Roxas' torso in places where he'd memorized what the reaction would be.

Roxas' fingers twitched and dug deeper and deeper into Axel's shoulders. He just wondered whether or not he was writhing because he rather _wanted_ Axel at the moment, or just because he wanted to beat the ever-living crap out of him. It felt sort of like a mix of both, sadly enough. No, no, he had to keep his eyes closed and his mouth _shut_. Ah, ah, _don't_ say that, Roxas. Keep everything to yourself. Do this and you won't regret it later. You can do this; you can _so _do this...

"Axelareyou_crazy?_" Roxas had to speak quickly and in one breath otherwise he feared he would lose his composure. Axel simply shook his head while _still_ sucking on Roxas' cold skin. "Ican'tbelieveyou—ah—whyare—nh—Ijust—ah_fuckyou_seriously..."

Ah, all this incoherent speech was secretly amusing to Axel. He tried not to giggle thinking about it, and instead lowered Roxas' body _just _to give him the impression that he was going to lay off. Roxas slowly lowered himself onto the couch once more, but before he could catch his breath, there Axel was sprawled atop him. Axel began in the dip where Roxas' collarbones met and kissed upward from there. All the while, Roxas still stuck with talking gibberish.

Oh, they were _this close_ to the tippy top now. Axel could feel it in his stomach...and most other places, yes, why do you ask? Finally, Axel lowered his hands and began to fiddle around down south while he gave Roxas' neck one last bite. All those touches combined forced Roxas' body into submission and all at once his legs bucked, his head threw back and one utterly _perfect _sound escaped his lips.

Hm. _Like being on a leash._

"Thank you," Axel whispered with a chuckle beside Roxas' ear once his moaning had died down.

Roxas was still panting wildly and his head was still pressed into the couch when he replied shakily, "Y-you..._suck_."

Axel _would've_ made a nice, lascivious comeback for that one, but he figured that with the sudden rapping on their door, why, he just wouldn't have time. So instead he looked up across the room toward the knocking sound and remained positioned on Roxas' waist when he called out:

"...It's open."

Well, that sure earned another freak out scenario from Roxas. What the _fuck _could _possibly _be going through Axel's _fucking_ head!? Nothing all too smart, no doubt. But where could he run to now? Here he was, unzipped, laying down and fucking _pinned_ in a dark room in public. In _public_. Now the door was wide open...and Roxas honestly felt, ah, screwed before he "got screwed", if that made a bit of sense.

With a hand slapped over his eyes, Roxas turned back to the ceiling and left the image of _his boss_ staring _right at them_ to flash in his mind over and over and over again.

Roxas felt Axel's body lower back down on him and he twitched uneasily.

"Something botherin' you?"

His boss didn't reply.

"Of 'course...you've seen the whole _world_ by now...haven't you, _Xiggy?_"

_Xiggy?_

"Xiggy?" Roxas asked quietly, carefully lifting a finger away from his eyes to get a better look.

There was his boss standing with his arms crossed in the doorway and a stubby little cigarette in between his lips. His hair was once again tied at the back tonight and his latest thing was to wear a nice suit to work. For the ladies, he said. Yeah. If anything else Roxas thought it made him look like a pedophile.

Axel relaxed his shoulders and curled up nice and easy under Roxas' chin. _Again_ with the kitten behavior. "What's up with the costume, _boss?_"

Xigbar, or Xiggy as he was called, sighed and leaned against the door frame with a thin smile playing on his lips. "Hm. _Thought _I recognized that voice...Sugar jus' wasn't th' same without ya, Axel."

"Hm. Flattering."

"So I opened up this place. Beauty, isn't she?" He brought a hand up to the wall and patted it once. "Best joint in town, you heard?"

Axel shook his head slowly and rubbed his leg against Roxas', making Roxas shift once more. "Hm."

"Most people think she's just a dance club an' bar, but she's got _this _secret spot at the back-a the club for th' dancers. Four of 'em righ' now, actually. Shoulda known _you'd_ find it. Couldn't stray away from that gig forever, right?"

"Hmhm."

"...I was jus' wonderin' when I'd find you again, Axel. Can't be much of a...dance joint if you're not on the scene." Well, that obviously hinted something. Ah, Xigbar. Old tricks die hard. Didn't you ever learn? Axel shut his eyes softly and continued to snuggle in closer to Roxas with his arms wrapped very loosely around the blonde's neck.

"_Come on_," Xigbar coaxed in a gruff voice. "You're th' best in town, remember? Huh? An' in Envy, ch, _damn,_ you'll be practically a _celebrity_. See all these here rooms? People'll wanna lock 'emselves up jus' t' be with ya. More than you got at Sugar, y'know. _Way more cash._"

The redhead sighed lazily and stretched his long legs out on the couch. That's right. Let's make Xigbar beg. Remember these legs? Hm? The freakin' sexy ones that got you that _suit_, that's what. "Hah. You're way too much. But, hm...now that I'm all preoccupied with..._work_, you know—"

"Work?" Both Roxas and Xigbar asked at once. Axel looked up at Roxas hazily and once more planted a kiss on his lips.

"Can't have my..." Kiss, kiss, suck, suck. "..._baby brother_ workin' all by himself, you know."

Now _that_, oh, _that _made Roxas' head spin out of con_trol_. Clearly Xigbar was just as equally mystified judging by the fact that his cigarette fell onto the floor as soon as his mouth dropped _wide_ open. He shook his hands in front of him and ogled the two making out right before his eyes.

"What'd you just—?"

"Mm..." Axel pulled out of Roxas' mouth for a second to reply. "Didn't Roxas tell you? _He's_ the one I was tryin' t' help when I worked for you, ya know. But now that he's workin' all these nights 'way from home, I get, I dunno..._lonely_." Roxas felt Axel move his lower body, rubbing them together in a painfully slow motion. He swallowed and kept to himself. _What?_

Xigbar...still stood there...ogling.

"Oh, sorry, Xiggy. Forgot you still got a job t' do, right?" With yet _another_ devious chuckle, Axel slipped away from the couch and helped a shaken Roxas up to his feet. From there he started to walk toward the hallway once again, not once taking his sight away from his ex-boss positively _stupefied _face. As he typically did in the old days, Axel brought a hand to Xigbar's shoulder, brushed it shyly and winked. But as an addition to his gesture, Axel carefully leaned in until he was a mere centimeter away from touching Xigbar's ear only to whisper in a sultry voice:

"_We fuck on a daily basis._"

That time, Xigbar _nearly_ lost all color in his face. Actually, scratch that. Yes. He just flat out _lost_ all of it. Maybe a bit of his soul. And not to mention a tad bit of his sanity.

"Well, you take care now, Xiggy. Let's go, Roxas. Stuff t' do, people t' see, all that."

"Y-yeah..."

"Oh, and Xiggy."

Xigbar blinked and still didn't budge from his spot.

"I'll be takin' 'im with me for good, so don't be expecting 'lil Roxy back. I just get _awful_ jealous when he's with other people for too long. Hope you can understand that, hm? Big brother instinct?"

"Axel..." Roxas muttered into Axel's arm.

"Don't worry 'bout it Roxas. _My_ turn t' take care-a you." Axel had said that so quietly over his shoulder so as to make sure Xigbar wouldn't catch a drop of it, although from the looks of things, Xigbar was too busy being a corpse to use his senses...what was left of them at least. Laughing softly to himself, Axel wrapped an arm around Roxas' shoulders and pulled him closer toward his body as they turned on the hallway and headed for the back entrance.

* * *

Axel's Punishment

* * *

"You...turned him down, Axel," Roxas whispered while just barely turning his head toward his thoroughly entertained boyfriend. Honestly, he was surprised that Axel was _walking out _on an offer that he assumed he'd never refuse. Not once. Ever. Wasn't this where he belonged? Didn't he say that this was who he _was?_ Who he was going to stay?

A loud thump could be heard on the other side of the door as Axel shut it behind them and suddenly ran down the steps dragging Roxas alongside him for the ride. Either Xigbar had gone unconscious or someone had shot a wall...hm. That was a thought.

"Yeah? I didn't go there to get a _job_, Rox." With that said, Axel came to a stop just as the two of them approached the sidewalk across the street from the club. "...Jus' t' get you outta yours."

Roxas blinked and that time really did look straight at Axel like he was a madman. "Wait, huh?"

He watched as Axel's hand ventured toward his pocket and returned with something he couldn't see clearly in the dark just yet. Roxas squinted to try and pick out the details, but it wasn't until he felt the texture of the object on his fingers did his eyes widen and his jaw drop.

"My wallet? You—"

"Call it a gift," Axel interrupted, thrusting the wallet into Roxas' unsuspecting hand. "Had t' get ya to th' club _some_how."

"S-so—so you _stole_ it from me just so we could—Axel, what were you _think_—?"

But as Roxas stuttered over his words and searched for the right ones to say and how, he completely forgot that deep down inside, well, he was...happy. Staring down at his wallet, he began to think that maybe this was the turning point he'd been waiting for—not just for him, but possibly for Axel, too. Possibly. Yeah, Axel's strategy was stupid and definitely _blunt_, but, really, Roxas knew that Axel had done something right. Weird. He'd never felt so great to be out of a job.

Suddenly, he felt fingers on his face and realized that Axel was once again holding his head with both hands.

"...So...happy birthday?"

Roxas smirked at that and brought a hand up to Axel's cheek, giving him a soft slap. "That's for being reckless."

Axel raised one eyebrow skeptically. "Oh?"

"Here's for being a pervert." He then fisted his hand and rammed it into Axel's stomach to which the redhead bent forward and chuckled.

"Ooo...Yeah?"

To Axel's surprise, Roxas still wasn't finished with his disciplining session. In fact, it just seemed that Roxas was getting started. The blonde immediately grabbed Axel's forearms with both hands and forcefully threw him against the nearest vertical surface, _which just happened to be_ a chain link fence. From there he glared at Axel with one hand on his hip and his eyes flashing.

"_That's_ for manipulating me, stealing from me, making me _miss out_ on Italian food, making me run around town, taking me to a place in work I really _didn't_ need to see, blowing our cover, permanently _scarring_ me _and_ my boss, _destroying_ my reputation at Envy, _attempting _to _nail me_ in fucking _public_, telling lies, implying fucking _incest_, keeping us outta the house past _9:00_, _more than likely_ giving me fucking _hickeys_, keeping me at that club in the first place, _not_ getting a job for yourself, making me buy all those fucking _thongs_ on the weekends when I _could've_ been doing something more productive with my life..."

With every point made, Roxas thrust a finger into Axel's chest, making the redhead squirm slightly, but with a smile still drawn on his face. Axel just couldn't help but think this was all leading up to something enjoyable. Of course, with _Roxas_ it was always hard to tell.

And so he waited...and waited still. Yes, he heard Roxas' words, but wasn't much paying attention. And eventually his waiting ended when Roxas let out an aggravated groan, and _against_ what he _thought_ he might do—which was kick him in the balls—Roxas took a large step forward, latched his fingers onto the spaces in the chain link fence and proceeded to lock lips with Axel.

"Mm..." Axel mumbled in slight shock. Ah, Roxas definitely changed. Quite a bit. Why was he so _forward?_

Minutes passed and finally Roxas moved his head back just enough for their foreheads to touch. Both could hear thunder rumbling quietly in the distance, but weather shouldn't come in between a good talk. Roxas' blue, blue eyes scanned over Axel's face and for once, Axel really couldn't tell if the blonde was truly _pissed_, or not.

"...And that?" he asked innocently, gently laying a hand behind Roxas' neck. Roxas smiled, rested his chin atop Axel's shoulder and replied:

"_For everything._"

* * *

Boxers

* * *

Axel eventually came to terms that both he and Roxas were going to go dead broke if he didn't take action and job hunt, so along with landing an internship with photo choreography, he ventured into the strange men's department at the local shopping centre and decided to give cheaper, socially acceptable boxers a try. The level of their relationship is yet to be discovered, but judging by the number of them being washed a week, one can only assume that, yes; Axel loves his boxers.

* * *

Catch the Waves...and some Z's

* * *

Roxas landed a job as a part-time lifeguard at the local beach, and so far hasn't had to rescue anyone from a shark contrary to popular belief. Still, he's waiting for the opportunity to come around the corner.

His sleeping pills were discarded and his sleeping patterns returned to semi-normal, considering that Axel keeps him awake most nights with serious needs to be met—not only sex, mind you. He's since put his birthday cake mix in the oven and learned how to work the microwave presets, though he can't yet figure out how to program the time.

* * *

Oh, Brother

* * *

Sora and Roxas' mother were both finally informed of Roxas' social status as well as who he has chosen as his partner for more than likely years to come.

Sora was speechless, mother was overjoyed.

Both stopped by for a visit after months of waiting and stayed until 3:00 AM listening to stories about Axel's "brother" and hair gel application. Sora announced that he would be moving out within the month, hopefully to the same apartment complex as Roxas and Axel.

Roxas has since been searching for new places to reside.

* * *

And They All Lived...

* * *

Both Axel and Roxas are doing better than they expected. They no longer only see each other a couple of days and hours a week, but now everyday. They've come to an agreement of who sleeps on which side of the bed: Roxas on the right, Axel on the left and occasionally at the foot. They have also come to an understanding about sex: whenever Axel feels like it. Axel has recently discovered that Roxas loves to top, and finds it hard to get him to stop it.

Roxas is an animal.

Both enjoy picking each other's clothes from time to time as well as sharing straws and headphones. Axel is, at the moment, trying to convince Roxas into installing a stripper pole at the dead center of the living room. Roxas is pretending to Google a contractor for the job.

For their one year anniversary, Axel is finally planning on taking Roxas out for Italian because now they have the money to afford it. They have yet to make a slam dunk at the basketball court, but according to Axel, it'll happen when Roxas least expects it—namely next week on a Sunday night when no one is around. Both have paid Club Envy a visit for a night of dancing, which slowly progressed into the wee hours of the morning.

Neither can recall the events that took place that night, but Axel has a feeling that there was a spoon involved.

Axel loves dancing for Roxas some days at home while Roxas tries to channel surf on a slow day. Roxas ignores this, but eventually loses his mind when he hears a zipper being undone, resulting in instant attention. He hopes that one day he'll be able to fake drowning in the water to get Roxas to perform CPR. It's a good thing.

Ah, yes.

Have we mentioned love...?

* * *

**are you blinded by the sight of love by now? if not by love, by axel's crazy antics? xO ya can never get him to stop, can ya? the dork.**

**it ain't over 'til i say it's over, folks! one more chapter to go and we'll be home free. thank you so much to the people that've stuck by me for the ride so far and a special shout out to those of you who leave nice reviews, not just for this baby, but for all the other ongoing stories i have out right now! it's been a better summer knowing that i've got SOMETHING to look forward to. DX**

**school year started for anyone yet? yes, no? well, for all of you that ARE at school now: good luck and stay dry. for those of you who are waiting for it to pounce: wear a helmet and stay off the drugs. you'll need a good head on your shoulders. oh, and good luck and stay dry as well. xD**

**i had fun with the chapter, can't you tell? -cricket- XO seriously! it was great fun! 4 AM writing a majority of it! mhm. it was WONDERFUL. but what i'm really itching to get done is the next installment. hopefully you'll be there to see it, yes? YES?? yes, you SO will. i will hunt you down if i have toooooo. _like a ninja, yo. _XD now, for those of you who would rather ignore the "_after hours_" -nudgenudge- portion of this story, you don't have to read the next epilogue. of course, if you checked number 1 on the list of epilogue ideas from the previous chapter, you go right ahead. until then! MAZZELTOFF.**

**(god i love that word. XD)**

**_i'm so installing a stripper pole in my room,  
kokoro77_**


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